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Exclusive: Bruins’ First-Line Center Quest Faces Unexpected Challenges and Jaw-Dropping Outcomes
In the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Boston Bruins emerged victorious in their opening-round series, although they were severely lacking in first-line center depth.
Will this off-season prove to be their lucky break? Adam Proteau is thinking. The Boston Bruins surprised many this season by winning their Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and finishing second in the Atlantic Division despite the retirements of senior players David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.
But the Bruins are no longer a truly top team, as they found out in their series loss to the Florida Panthers in the second round. And their circumstances at the center location are among the main causes of that.
The Bruins lacked the depth and elite talent at center that the Panthers and other legitimate Cup front-runners have, as Bergeron and Krejci left a huge void in the middle this past season.
The Bruins management will also be extremely tempted to go out and sign a No. 1 center, which may have terrible consequences. The Bruins have their star player, Jeremy Swayman, in net. They are also well-equipped on the blueline with defensemen Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Hampus Lindholm.
However, the middle area is the one that stands out like a sore thumb. With 25 goals and 60 points in a season that was a career high for him offensively, Charlie Coyle hardly qualified as an exceptional first-line center.
Morgan Geekie, a second-line pivot with 17 goals and 39 points, is more of a third-line player. But what are the practical means by which Boston can get a first-line center? Indeed, the Bruins may spend heavily on a potential UFA like Canucks center Elias Lindholm to be their first-line center, allocating a large portion of their current $23.5 million salary cap to this player.
However, that would be incorrect in this writer’s opinion. In 75 games this past season, Lindholm, 29, managed just 15 goals and 44 points, which were his lowest totals since the 2017–18 campaign. Due to his poor performance this season, Lindholm lost a lot of money, and although some teams may give him a big rise on the $4.85 million he earned in 2023-24, it shouldn’t be the Bruins.
Don Sweeney, the general manager of the Boston Bruins, will have to find a center who no longer fits into the team’s plans or budget. Chandler Stephenson, a veteran forward for the Vegas Golden Knights who was a UFA last season and scored 16 goals and 51 points in 75 games, may be the best option.
However, his 21-goal, 64-point campaign in 2021–22 showed that he is capable of more offensive output. Moreover, Stephenson won’t cost Boston as much as Lindholm because he just finished a season with a $2.75 million salary hit.
Additionally, Stephenson’s background as a two-time Cup winner would mesh well with the Bruins’ way of doing things.
Trevor Zegras, the center for the Anaheim Ducks right now, could be a longer shot for Boston. For the Bruins to be in a position to trade for Zegras, a lot of things would need to come together.
Sweeney might be interested in moving veteran goalie Linus Ullmark in exchange for Zegras, but that would require the Ducks to find a new home for their starting goalie, John Gibson, which is easier said than done.
Nonetheless, the 23-year-old Zegras has ties to the Boston region—he attended Boston University for one season—and he has a higher offensive upside than Stephenson or Lindholm. Once more, though, his services are not inexpensive.
Boston clearly needs a center, regardless of who they find and sign down the middle. The Bruins must develop a first-line center of their own in an Atlantic Division dominated by players like Tim Stutzle, Aleksander Barkov, and Auston Matthews.
Lindholm is one of the trap options available, and any team that gives away a top-line center typically does so because of the player’s shortcomings. However, Boston’s prospects of making a deep postseason run the following year would not be enhanced by having Coyle back in the first-line center position.
