Bruins, Lindholm agree to eight-year contract extension with $6.5 million AAV

Update (4 PM Sunday): It's official now.

If reports are to be believed, the Bruins and Hampus Lindholm appear to be set to cross a big item off the “to-do” list.

As mentioned before, Lindholm is a pending unrestricted free agent, and whether or not he’s prepared to sign a new contract extension will go a long way toward determining whether or not the Bruins made a good move.

It was hard to believe that Don Sweeney would sign off on that haul if he had no knowledge of whether or not Lindholm would ink a new deal.

Given how quickly talks appear to have progressed, it’s fair to assume that there were conversations between both parties (whether through official channels or otherwise) prior to a deal being made.

An eight-year deal would take Lindholm to 36 years old, which is quite a commitment for a team to make to a defenseman.

However, the deal’s length is probably less a reflection of the Bruins’ belief in Lindholm’s play as a 36 year old and more an attempt at softening the AAV blow.

It would appear that, based on the current CBA, the Bruins and Lindholm wouldn’t be able to sign an official extension until after Monday’s deadline has passed.

Of course, that doesn’t mean both parties can’t agree to a deal in the meantime and just officially sign on the dotted line come Monday.

Anyways, it looks like the Bruins are set to sign Lindholm to an eight-year, $52ish million contract.

That begs the question:

1. Does this change your opinion on the trade?
2. Is this a good deal for a guy who has never played a game for the Bruins?

Discuss.