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What’s next for Bruins at center following Patrice Bergeron’s retirement?
"We know that that's a position, organizationally, that we need to improve upon."
The task of replacing Patrice Bergeron is easier said than done.
Strike that. It’s a near-impossible endeavor for a Bruins roster that has relied so heavily on him both on and off ice.
An architect of a Bruins culture that attracted numerous free agents to TD Garden over the years, Bergeron’s words held weight within the dressing room. Boston can’t replicate his influence without a collective effort from the next wave of talent.
But even at 37 years old, Bergeron still held court as Boston’s top-line center and the best defensive forward in the league.
Not only will Boston miss his two-way prowess in critical stages of games, his spot on the top line created a positive domino effect where players like Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha could slot further down the lineup.
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Such a luxury isn’t afforded to the Bruins now that Bergeron has decided to hang up his skates.
But with the Bruins looking to remain competitive in 2023-24 before a potential spending spree next summer, what’s next for Boston this upcoming season?
Here are a few thoughts on the post-Bergeron era, especially when it comes to the center position:
Looking internally
The 2023-24 Bruins roster still has plenty of strengths to fall back on.
Boston returns a stout defense anchored by Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, with veteran Kevin Shattenkirk serving as a value add in place of Connor Clifton. The tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman should once again be the best goaltending duo in the league.
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The B’s still have high-end talent on the wing in David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk and others.
But even if it was expected for Boston’s scoring output to take a hit this season, Boston’s uncertainty at the center position does raise questions over just how competitive this roster can be in 2023-24.
With Boston facing a cap crunch this offseason following its “all-in” moves in 2022-23, Don Sweeney and the Bruins were unable to significantly bolster their grouping down the middle this summer beyond value adds like Morgan Geekie and Jesper Boqvist.
“We had some handcuffs on us, so we did what we could do,” Cam Neely said on Wednesday. “We know that that’s a position, organizationally, that we need to improve upon.”
As of right now, it seems like the Bruins will have to account for the loss of Bergeron by looking inward at what they already have on the roster.
The return of David Krejci would alleviate some of Boston’s woes, giving them at least one proven top-six pivot in 2023-24. But given Krejci’s comments during break-up day in May, his return seems unlikely following a last hurrah in 2022-23.
If both Bergeron and Krejci are not part of the equation, Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle are due for promotions as Boston’s top-six centers.
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Zacha, 26, seemed destined for a greater role next season regardless of the roster reshuffle up front. The 6-foot-4 forward had a breakout year in his first season with Boston, posting 57 points (21 goals, 36 assists) in 82 games while regularly slotting in for Krejci as the Bruins’ 2C.
Slotting behind either Bergeron or Krejci would have made for an easier avenue for Zacha to assume a top-six role. But Zacha’s soft touch, underrated shot, and chemistry with his fellow countryman Pastrnak offer hope that he can help drive an offensive-focused line in 2023-24.
Coyle presents a few more question marks in terms of his viability as an everyday top-six forward. The 31-year-old forward is best suited as a third-line anchor, but held his own against the Panthers when replacing Bergeron in the early stages of that first-round series.
When Coyle is on his game, he is a puck-possession menace who can make space down low and slow down opposing players in Boston’s own zone. He served as Boston’s shutdown center last season, allowing Bergeron and Krejci to earn more O-zone reps.
“He just seemed like he was a monster,” Jim Montgomery said of Coyle following Boston’s 4-2 victory against Florida in Game 3. “He was a man possessed out there with the way he just took pucks to the net.”
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Still, while Coyle has the skillset to be a steady, two-way pivot further up in the lineup, he has yet to prove it over an extended stretch of games.
During the regular season, a Marchand-Coyle-DeBrusk line logged 42:16 of 5v5 ice time together, with Boston holding the edge in shot attempts (49-34), shots on goal (22-17) and goals scored (2-1).
Boston’s top brass liked what it saw from a Coyle-Zacha 1-2 punch during the playoffs, but it’s a different ask entirely to replicate that over the course of 82 games.
If Coyle and Zacha move up, there are additional question marks further down the middle. Geekie and Trent Frederic could slot in at 3C, with Geekie in particular offering plenty of intrigue given his production under limited minutes with the Kraken last season.
Veteran Patrick Brown could slot in at 4C if youngsters like Johnny Beecher can seize a spot out of training camp.
Boston does have some talent further down in the farm system with players like Georgii Merkulov, Brett Harrison, and Matthew Poitras, but it’s asking an awful lot of these players to earn top-six minutes out of the gate in 2023-24.
Poitras might have the highest ceiling as a top-six pivot, but he is also just 19 years old and could stand to use another season in the OHL before being considered a viable option for NHL reps.
As of now, it seems like Coyle and Zacha are the best options that the Bruins have down the middle in 2023-24.
Looking outside of the organization?
Of course, the Bruins still have more than six weeks left in the offseason to add to their roster before training camp begins.
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Could Boston still look to add a center by way of a trade?
“We’ll do whatever we can to bolster that position,” Neely said when asked a similar query.
There are a number of potential pivots who could still be on the move this summer, headlined by Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele and Calgary’s Elias Lindholm. Both are in the final years of their respective contracts.
Schiefele is coming off of a 42-goal season, and has six seasons of 25+ goals on his resume. The 30-year-old forward is a top-six regular, although his defensive game and questions regarding the makeup of a regularly underachieving Jets dressing room do raise some questions.
Lindholm checks off plenty of boxes if Boston is looking for a Bergeron replacement to aid this next generation of talent. The 28-year-old Flames center is regarded as one of the better top-six forwards in the league and has surpassed the 60-point threshold in three of the last five seasons.
Of course, there are numerous hurdles standing in the way of potential trades over the next month.
Boston already only has $5.4 million in cap space left this summer, much (if not all) will be allocated to whatever contracts both Swayman and Frederic eventually sign.
Even with just one year left on their deals, Lindholm and Scheifele won’t be cheap. Boston might have to subtract key pieces from their roster in order to facilitate a deal.
Of course, Boston could try and open up its checkbook next summer when players like Lindholm, Scheifele, and others hit free agency. But as is usually the case, top-six centers are coveted assets, and most teams do everything they can to lock them up before hitting the open market.
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But more fiscal flexibility in the years ahead does give Boston leverage, especially if rebuilding teams opt to move contracts like Tomas Hertl’s or Clayton Keller’s in 2024 and beyond.
The 2023-24 Bruins can still hover in the playoff picture as a wild-card club thanks to their stingy defense and goaltending. Hope sits on the horizon in youngsters like Poitras and the potential of a major pick-up like Lindholm in free agency or via trade.
But until they find some clarity down the middle, the Bruins are going to face an uphill climb when it comes to regaining their status as a top contender in the NHL.
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