Toronto Maple Leafs: Is Par Lindholm Any Good?

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Par Lindholm this past offseason.

On a team full of stars, Toronto Maple Leafs fourth line centre Par Lindholm doesn’t get very much attention.

With players like Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander  in your lineup every night, it’s easy to see why the Leafs have been successful.

With that depth means there are a number of forwards who will fly under the radar , and Par Lindholm is no exception. He has been playing as the team’s 4th line centreman in a limited role as a defensive specialist.

So the question is, how has Lindholm done in his first season in the Blue and White so far?

Low offence in a limited role

When the Leafs signed Lindholm to a one-year contract during the 2018 offseason, they acquired a player who was expected to provide added depth to the centre position.

To this point, he hasn’t been an offensive force as he currently has 1 goal, 8 assists, and 9 points in 35 games played. At his current pace, he would finish the year with roughly 2 goals, 19 assists, and 21 points.

While those numbers may seem disappointing, it’s reflective of the role he has been given. Playing an average of 13:01 minutes per night, 71.79% of his shifts start in the defensive/neutral end and 72.35% of his faceoffs are in either the neutral or defensive zone. When your primary focus is to be more of a defensive forward, it’s not a shock that it has resulted in low offensive numbers.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Lindholm has a good giveaway to takeaway ratio. While he has turned the puck over nine times, he has registered 19 takeaways .. He has also drawn five penalties, which is tied for 8th on the Leafs.

Given Lindholm’s role, he has done some things well despite a limited offensive showing. But how effective has he been at controlling the play?

Mediocre advanced stats

When delving into Lindholm’s stats this season, there are many troubling signs.

At the time of writing, he has a Corsi-for% of 41.52% and his shots-for, goals-for and scoring chances-for percentages are even worse. What this means is that whenever Lindholm is on the ice, his team has the puck less, gets out-chanced and out-scored by the opposition.

There have been a few instances in the past few games in which Lindholm’s line got burned for a few goals against. This one in particular against the Tampa Bay Lightning was by far the most notable given the context of the game.

Most notably, Lindholm has among the lowest goals above replacement values on the Leafs roster as a whole. With a GAR of -1.70, it is the second worst on the team with Nikita Zaitsev being the only one worse than Lindholm.

It’s fair to say that Lindholm has overall been a liability for the team when he’s on the ice.  Statistically, he has been terrible, and the only real question is whether his deployment in a defensive role can explain away the bad numbers.

Conclusion

Let’s get one thing straight about Par Lindholm, he was brought onto this team to play on the 4th line and give the top guns a much-needed breather.

Taking that into consideration, there are some things that he has done reasonably well in his limited minutes. He has decent production in a secondary role, been effective on the draw, and has done some of the little things well.

There have been some obvious flaws in his game that cannot be ignored. His teammates are out-chanced and out-scored when he’s on the ice, while also providing little value to the team overall.

Overall, Lindholm is doing what is being asked of him somewhat well but can be considered a replaceable player. Mike Babcock may like Lindholm enough to keep him in the lineup up to this point but the Swedish centre has yet to prove he is the long-awaited answer to what has been a revolving door position for the Leafs.

If Lindholm can improve his weakness as the season progresses, then that’s a good thing for Toronto. He does, however, seem like a player whose job may be in jeopardy when the Toronto Maple Leafs inevitably upgrade their roster before the Playoffs.

Thanks for reading!

All stats unless otherwise noted are from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey-Reference.