The Boston Bruins were the greatest regular season team in NHL history last season. However, they exprienced a massive loss both on the ice and off the ice when captain Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement. Combined with the potential retirement of fellow center David Krejci, the Bruins find themselves in a very rough spot.

Suddenly, their center depth sticks out, and not in a good way. According to Daily Faceoff, Pavel Zacha is listed as their number one center. One could argue their top center is Charlie Coyle because he averaged roughly 50 seconds more per game last season than Zacha. Neither player is going to cut it as a top center for a team with playoff aspirations.

The Bruins prospect pool doesn’t leave much hope in the immediate future. Georgii Merkulov was a pleasant surprise for the Providence Bruins in the AHL last season, but asking him to handle a top line role, let alone a top-six forward role, seems like a bit of a reach.

Free agency likely won’t lead to any solutions for the Bruins either. The thought of Jonathan Toews in black and gold is compelling, but he’s best suited in a bottom six role at this stage in his career. While the Bruins could do worse than taking a one-year flyer on someone like Pius Suter, he’s no Patrice Bergeron.

This leaves the Bruins with three feasible options. First, they could trade for someone. The Bruins could also retool and try to contend despite their questionable at best center depth. Let’s examine each option.

Trade Options

There are several fascinating names available on the trade market. As they say, you have to give up talent to get talent, but as they also say, beggers can’t be choosers. If Krejci retires, the Bruins need for a center would be exponentially worse.

Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets has one year left on his deal with a reasonable $6.125 million cap hit. The Bruins would have to move out salary to accomodate him, but he’s likely their best option. Scheifele is more of an offense-first center than an all-around center like Bergeron. That said, the Bruins have a very strong defensive system, so perhaps it won’t matter too much.

Another option with one year left on his deal is Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm (no relation to Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm). He’s more of an all-around center than Scheifele, though his offense took a toll last season without Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. Still, Lindholm managed 64 points in 82 games, which isn’t too shabby. He’s also a bit more affordable, as he has a $4.85 million cap hit.

Perhaps appropriately, Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Washington Capitals is the wild card of the bunch. Unlike Lindholm and Scheifele, he has two years left on his deal, though his $7.8 million cap hit is more significant than those two. Kuznetsov’s talent is undeniable. When he’s on his game, he’s one of the most dynamic players in the NHL. However, Kuznetsov can also be frustrating, as he was last season.

The pickings are a bit slim after this trio. Someone like New York Islanders center Jean Gabriel-Pageau might make sense. Scott Laughton of the Philadelphia Flyers would be a nice fit, but probably not in a top line role. Adam Henrique of the Anaheim Ducks could probably be had.

Retooling

Right now, the Eastern Conference looks like it’s going to be brutal. The Buffalo Sabres are ready to pounce if any Atlantic Division playoff team from last season falls off. There’s also the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators to worry about. Not to mention the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division.

Retooling on the fly sounds like a daunting task for the Bruins. But consider this. The Bruins have a ton of great players. David Pastrnak is a dynamic goal scorer no matter who his center is. Charlie McAvoy is Zdeno Chara’s successor in the Bruins long history of defensive stalwarts. Brad Marchand is quite possibly the most annoying person in the world to play against and he’s still a great player. They also have an elite goaltending tandem in Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.

If any team can enter the season with questionable center depth and make it work, it’s a team as talented as the Bruins. But is that a risk they’re willing to take? Only time will tell. Regardless of what the Bruins do from here on out, they’re the most interesting team for the remainder of this offseason.

-Flava Dave

*Featured Photo Courtesy of NJ.com*