2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 19: Hampus Lindholm #27 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Florida Panthers during the third period of Game Two of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 19, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Panthers defeat the Bruins 6-3. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 19: Hampus Lindholm #27 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Florida Panthers during the third period of Game Two of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 19, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Panthers defeat the Bruins 6-3. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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The Boston Bruins were a historically good team in the regular season last season. They set NHL records for points, wins, and tons of other things in between. They were incredibly fun to watch every single night.

Unfortunately, not many are thinking that they will be that good again. They lost their top two centers as Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have both retired from the NHL. That leaves a magnificent hole down the middle of the ice.

Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle are good players in this league but they are not a 1-2 punch that you win a Stanley Cup with more often than not. If they are your second and third-line centers, that could be a different story. It would be even better if they were young bottom-six guys.

With the wingers that the Boston Bruins have in addition to outstanding goaltending and defense, they should really try to fix this problem. There are too many very good players there to just give up because your top two centers retired.

The Boston Bruins need to go out and find themselves some more centers.

If the Bruins went out there and made a big trade for another center or two, they would look really smart. Now, Bergeron and Krejci were both on team-friendly deals so not much cap space opened up. They are going to have to get creative if they want to make an addition.

During the season, they could consider making a trade for someone who could come in and be their number-one center. They might even think about getting two guys if they can. We’ve seen Don Sweeney be aggressive before and he could be again.

These are the two (realistic to trade for) centers that the Bruins should look at ahead of anyone else:

(Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)
(Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images) /

Logan Couture. 39. player. 120. . C. San Jose Sharks

The Boston Bruins could look at a player like Logan Couture for the center.

Logan Couture is currently the captain of the San Jose Sharks. Of course, the Sharks are looking like they could be one of the worst teams in the league. Their roster is horrible and they are only going to make it worse.

Guys like Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson have already been traded away and more are coming. Couture might join guys like Tomas Hertl and Kevin Labanc on the next plane out of town. It will be interesting to see what they do.

Couture has been a very good offensive player during his time in the National Hockey League. There have been plenty of good players alongside him and they have had some success in the playoffs as a result, despite not winning the Stanley Cup.

Last year, Couture had 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points in 82 games on this bad Sharks team. The Bruins would help him increase that goal total and he would certainly pick up more assists with his ability to be a good playmaker.

If he came to Boston, he’d get to center wingers like Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Jake DeBrusk amongst others. Obviously, it would be an upgrade over the guys he’d be getting in San Jose this season. The Bruins should really consider something like this.

(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Mark Scheifele. 55. player. 107. . C. Winnipeg Jets

The Boston Bruins would love to add a player like Mark Scheifele right now.

The Boston Bruins would love Logan Couture. However, he is a bit more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer. If Don Sweeney wants a centerman who can do a little bit of both but lean shooting, Mark Scheifele would be a great option for him.

Scheifele is coming off a year with the Winnipeg Jets, the only team he’s ever played for, where he scored 40 goals and had 26 assists. That is a lot of goals playing for a team that made the playoffs but barely. The Bruins would look so much better with Scheifele in their lineup.

You could put Brad Marchand on his wing and get amazing results as Marchand can really make some plays while disrupting the opposition. Scheifele would thrive with a guy like that. This is a match made in heaven.

We don’t know for sure if the Jets are going to trade a whole bunch of people but Scheifele will be included if so. A bad start to the 2023-24 season will likely lead to some changes around there. The Bruins would love to be a team to take advantage of a situation like that.

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