BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins have a No. 1 goalie in Jeremy Swayman. They have a No. 1 defenseman in Charlie McAvoy.
They have no such luck in the middle.
"We all, in this room, recognize we don't have a true No. 1 C," president Cam Neely said at the team's end-of-year evaluation at TD Garden. "That's something we want to try to rectify, whether it's this offseason or those guys growing into it. But it's something we know that's needed."
The Bruins have assets, including what could be three 2028 first-round picks. Matthew Poitras and Mason Lohrei could be used as trade collateral. They could have north of $15 million in cap space if they do not re-sign Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke, their two pending unrestricted free agents.
All of this collides, however, with the issue regarding first-line centers: supply and demand.
"When you do make a call about a player of that nature you've just described," said general manager Don Sweeney, referring to No. 1 centers, "the guy on the other side says there's not even 32 of them in the league."
For example, if the St. Louis Blues or Vancouver Canucks put Robert Thomas or Elias Pettersson up for sale, the cost would most likely stretch the Bruins beyond their capabilities. There are simply so few first-line centers available for trade and so many interested parties that the advantage swings wildly toward the sellers. In Pettersson's case, the 27-year-old may not even classify as a top-line center anymore.
As for free agency, Evgeni Malkin is the top center on colleague Chris Johnston's early free agent big board. Malkin had 19 goals and 42 assists in 56 games -- and played as much right wing as center. The 39-year-old is a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguin. It would be a poor match all around. Former Bruin Charlie Coyle is the only other center on Johnston's list.
It wasn't long ago that hunting for a first-line center wasn't even on Sweeney's mind.
The Bruins lived on easy street for more than a decade. Not only were Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci 1-2 on their depth chart, but the Bruins drafted them in the second round of their respective drafts. All it took was reinvesting in them -- at discount rates, in both of their cases -- to extend an organizational advantage.
In 2024, one year after Bergeron and Krejci retired, the Bruins tried to address their shortcoming by signing Elias Lindholm. Two years later, their $54.25 million UFA investment has fallen short of a tolerable market return.
Lindholm has five years left on his contract. The 31-year-old would serve the Bruins best as a third-line center and power-play specialist in the bumper position. There is nothing the Bruins can do about the inefficiency of a third-liner earning $7.75 million annually, other than cross their fingers that his back does not flare up for a third straight season.
"He wants to get back to the level he believes he's capable of and we believe he's capable of," Sweeney said. "Injuries are not the player's fault. It's a matter of what you can do as a result of training to counteract that. He's willing to put that work in."
Perhaps the most likely solution, then, is to see how Poitras, Fraser Minten and James Hagens arrive in training camp. It may be unrealistic to expect any of them to contend for top-line reps.
Poitras, 22, spent all but three games in the AHL in 2025-26. His first step is to make the varsity, let alone accelerate to the head of the line.
Minten, 21, took some first-line shifts with David Pastrnak. Coach Marco Sturm liked how Minten’s hockey sense complemented Pastrnak’s game. Minten processes the game similarly to Bergeron. It’s why Sturm had full confidence in using the ex-Toronto Maple Leaf on the third line and penalty kill.
It will be up to Minten to improve his foot speed and explosiveness to give him separation from defenders he'd see as a top-line center. He will continue his development in the upcoming weeks with Team Canada at the World Championship.
"Great extension of his year to be able to go and spend time with elite players that are going to go play there," Sweeney said. "So there's a progression. We're hoping they hit their high side. People originally described Fraser as one player. Why put a ceiling there? We'll see what he's going to do."
Of the three, Hagens has the qualities that give him the most potential to stick a top-line landing. He operates at a high pace, moves the puck crisply and sees plays develop ahead of time. The 19-year-old may not be ready for the responsibility, though. It would probably benefit the employee and the employer to ease him in at wing, then see if he can assume center responsibilities.
"Sometimes it has to be by committee," Sweeney said. "You hope that you grow and you strike oil."