The Bruins have finally paid the price for their failed center succession plan
The Boston Bruins ran Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci into the ground. Because they had to.
Under not just GM Don Sweeney, but the previous regime led by Peter Chiarelli, the Bruins utterly failed to draft and develop suitable successors at the center position. It especially hurt in the latter years of the careers of Bergeron and Krejci, as the B’s rode their two future team Hall of Famers until the proverbial wheels came off.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. The Bruins drafted Zach Hamill eighth overall in the 2007 draft, as a potential franchise center to group with the emerging Bergeron and Krejci. Hamill ended up playing just 20 games in the NHL without ever scoring a goal.
The following year, the B’s drafted centers with each of their first two picks, with Joe Colborne and Max Sauve. Colborne played 295 NHL games, but never played for the Bruins and didn’t pan out as a first-round selection. Sauve played exactly one game at the NHL level.
![VANCOUVER, CANADA - MAY 8: Elias Lindholm #23 of the Vancouver Canucks waits for a face-off during the first period in Game One of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena on May 8, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2024/07/Elias-Lindholm-2024-Canucks_1719934486_.jpg?resize=1024,774)
VANCOUVER, CANADA – MAY 8: Elias Lindholm #23 of the Vancouver Canucks waits for a face-off during the first period in Game One of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena on May 8, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)
Chiarelli had a hit in the draft during this period, landing Tyler Seguin with the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. But he couldn’t stay patient with Seguin, shipping him off to the Dallas Stars after just three seasons in Boston. Seguin may not have become the superstar the Bruins envisioned in 2010, but he certainly would’ve been a worthy top-six center for the B’s in the post-Bergeron/Krejci era.
Under Sweeney, the pain has only deepened. He passed on drafting a center with his now-infamous haul of first-round picks in the 2015 draft, and his top center selection in the second round, Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, played 29 games in his NHL career.
Trent Frederic (first round, 2016) is a solid NHL player, but certainly far from a franchise center. Jack Studnicka (second round, 2017) ended up traded to the Canucks for goaltender Michael Dipietro and defenseman Jonathan Myrenberg. Johnny Beecher (first round, 2019) looks like he’ll top out as a bottom-six forward.
Fast-forward five years, and the B’s have some promise with 2022 second-round pick Matthew Poitras, and have added 6-foot-7 center Dean Letourneau to the pipeline through the 2024 NHL Draft. But the Bruins have already failed to properly succeed Bergeron and Krejci at center, and it’s hurt them over the past two years, possibly going forward.
Enter Elias Lindholm.
Originally the fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Lindholm can be viewed as the guy meant to succeed Bergeron all along. He plays in all situations, he’s a proven two-way talent, he’ll be the bumper on the power play, he and David Pastrnak will elevate each other.
“Honestly, you know, playing in the League for a long time and kind of try to look at Bergeron as much as possible,” Lindholm said in his introductory press conference Monday. “I don’t want to compare myself or anything like that, but I think I can bring a little bit of what he did. I obviously try to come here and bring my game and come back to the player I know I can be and hopefully help this team to achieve the Stanley Cup.”
![Elias Lindholm of the Vancouver Canucks warms up prior to a game against the Boston Bruins.](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2024/07/Elias-Lindholm-action-shot-2024-Canucks_1719934706_.jpg?resize=1024,774)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 08: Elias Lindholm #23 of the Vancouver Canucks warms up prior to a game against the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden on February 8, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
Lindholm is now the 33rd-highest-paid center in the league at $7.75 million per season (per CapFriendly). There’s a chance his 7-year contract ages poorly, like it did for the likes of Logan Couture, Ryan Johansen, or Nicklas Backstrom. But there’s also the chance that it rides out a rising salary cap gracefully. End of the day, it was a win for Sweeney to get Lindholm at under $8 million, considering the players that currently meet or exceed that number.
But it’s also the price of doing business in NHL free agency, after failing spectacularly in your quest(s) to find centermen of the future. Lindholm may be a great fit for the B’s, but plucking him off the street at age 29 and locking him in through age 36 was never going to be an ideal plan.
And besides, even with Lindholm, they’re still paying the price. Charlie Coyle projects as the Bruins’ No. 2 center in the 2024-25 season, despite ideally slotting in as the No. 3, like he did in the team’s historic 2022-23 campaign. So, their journey toward replenishing the top of their center depth chart remains incomplete.
MORE: Full details of Bruins’ seven-year deal with Elias Lindholm
That’s what happens when you go basically 15 years without drafting a legitimate top-six option, at arguably the most important position in the sport. But at least they finally cleared the space to move in the right direction. the hope, now, is that recent draft picks finally buck the trend.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.