Bruins Acquire and Extend Shut Down Defensemen Hampus Lindholm

The Bruins are finally being aggressive at the NHL Trade Deadline. In order to make one last run at a Stanley Cup in what may be Captain Patrice Bergeron’s final season, they needed to make some serious moves. Here is the breakdown of the first big move the Bruins made below.

Trade #1

Bruins

Hampus Lindholm (Ducks Retain 50% Salary for remainder of 2021-2022 season, signed 8 year 52 million dollar extension)

Kodie Curran

Ducks

2022 1st-round pick

2023 2nd-round pick

2024 2nd-round pick

Urho Vaakanainen

John Moore

Hampus Lindholm

The biggest win for the Bruins in this trade is that they Unloaded John Moore’s contract off their payroll. Moore’s five year deal with an AAV of 2.75 million is one of the worst deals in Don Sweeney’s tenure as Bruins GM, especially given the fact Moore mostly spends his time traveling back and forth from Boston Providence and has seen very little game action over the past few years. The fact the Bruins traded his contract while receiving one of the game’s better shut down Defenseman, is one of the greatest feats of Don Sweeney’s career as Bruins GM. If you don’t like the fact they gave up three draft picks there is good reason. John Moore’s contract going to Anaheim is one of them as well as the Ducks paying 50% of Lindholm’s salary for this season. This gives the Bruins flexibility to make more moves and be aggressive at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Hampus Lindholm is a 6 foot 4 shutdown Defenseman who is a good skater and puck mover and is excellent at denying zone entries. The 28 year old defender also plays 20-25 minutes a game, so expect to see a lot of ice time alongside his projected defensive partner, Charlie McAvoy. He has produced solid offensive numbers in the past but his defensive game is his biggest asset.

The addition of Lindholm provides a consistent, steady presence on the Bruins blue line from the left side which has been needed. I would even go as far as saying he is the best defensive defenseman on the Bruins roster. The B’s needed a Left-shot Defenseman to assist them on one last Stanley Cup run in the Bergeron era. But this trade is not just about the short term. This is a move that will help the Bruins long term. Lindholm signed an 8 year extension upon being traded to Boston and will be paid 6.5 million on average. The deal provides the Bruins a machine on defense and a great core of defenders for the foreseeable future. His cap hit will not hurt the Bruins much in the long term with cap increasing over the next few years. Luckily for the Bruins, 6.5 million will not be as big of a contract in the future as it currently is. The Bruins top four Defensemen in their defensive core in McAvoy, Lindholm, Grzelcyk and Carlo is monstrous and something the Bruins will see for quite some time. This one of the greatest trades the bruins have made in recent memory.