Knowing they could lose defenseman Dmitry Orlov to free agency in a few weeks, the Boston Bruins reportedly have buyer’s remorse when it comes to the lucrative contract they handed out to blueliner Hampus Lindholm. So much so, a report from 98.5 The Sports Hub producer James Stewart suggests the Bruins might try to trade Lindholm to make room for Orlov’s expected salary hike.
Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now picked up on the story and looked into it with some of his sources. He tweeted on Saturday, “When I asked an NHL [source] about the rumor that the #NHLBruins have ‘buyer’s remorse’ on defenseman Hampus Lindholm and are trying to trade him, one NHL GM had this to say to me: “What! No!” Then joked: “If he is, I hope Donny [Bruins’ general manager Don Sweeney] calls me!”
Lindholm is a solid defenseman in the NHL. The Bruins traded with the Anaheim Ducks to get him and then immediately signed him to an eight-year contract at a cost of $6.5 million per season. But, if they are prioritizing Orlov, and they are stuck with their salary cap situation (which they are), it makes sense that speculation surrounding a Lindholm trade might be out there.
Lindholm Might Not Be the Only Bruin on the Block
Stewart also suggested that, following rumors the Bruins were trying to find ways to keep forward Tyler Bertuzzi from jumping in free agency, the forward might be looking for as much as $7 million per season on his next contract. Murphy didn’t think that was accurate but also mentioned that Bertuzzi is set to get a pay bump and noted buzz that Taylor Hall might be a trade chip out of Boston to make more room.
All of this becomes an interesting shift in the narrative for the Bruins as Pierre LeBrun reported in February of this year that the Bruins actively sought out the Lindholm trade with an extension in mind. He wrote, “That trade never happens without a clear understanding that the extension would follow.” He added, “As Bruins team president Cam Neely recently told The Athletic’s Bruins beat writer, Fluto Shinzawa, the team has tried to get “out of the rental mode.”
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