The Bruins were nowhere to be found on NHL Network’s latest top-20 centers list, and that absence tells its own story.
NHL Network kept rolling through its preseason rankings by naming the league’s 20 best centers right now, with Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon sitting at the top and Dylan Larkin checking in at No. 20.
Two Oilers cracked the top five, and the Devils were the only other team to place two centers on the list. Boston, though, didn’t land a single player.
That isn’t exactly a shock if you’ve been tracking the Bruins’ roster situation. The team still doesn’t have a true No. 1 center, something Cam Neely acknowledged back in May. Pavel Zacha has become Boston’s top option down the middle, but there’s still a noticeable gap between him and the league’s elite at the position.
Around the league, the biggest mover on the list was Macklin Celebrini, who jumped from 19th to third. And the captaincy chatter in San Jose keeps pointing in the same direction.
Reports from Emily Kaplan in May were followed up by Sheng Peng, and the word now is that it’s “all but certain” Celebrini will be the next captain in San Jose. Sharks GM Mike Grier has been careful not to pile too much on the 20-year-old too soon, but the expectation appears to be that the job is coming.
Colorado also had some contract news to chew on. Cale Makar is eligible for an extension, and Joe Sakic addressed the situation yesterday before a game between Avalanche alumni and DU Pioneers alumni. Sakic said he remains confident the deal gets done before the season starts, and he added that he’s not concerned about the CBA changes set for September 16.
There was more offseason talk elsewhere, too. Florida Hockey Now continued its Atlantic Division grades with a look at the Canadiens, who have moved past their rebuild. Kent Hughes handled some internal business, but Montreal didn’t make many major additions this summer.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now turned to season predictions with training camp less than a month away, including one that focused on a former Bruin and where he stands heading into the second year of his contract.
And in New York, the Rangers are heading into a make-or-break season. Arthur Staple of The Athletic said the team needs to show improvement or risk more changes, with Chris Drury on the hot seat and some bigger names potentially looking for the exit if things go sideways.
On the business side, ESPN is raising prices. Starting September 17, ESPN Unlimited will cost $31.99 per month or $319.99 for the year.
ESPN Select, the rebranded version of ESPN+, will move to $13.99 per month and $139.99 annually. Out-of-market regular-season games have been carried on the ESPN app since 2021.
In Other News...
Bruins May Need To Cut Ties With A Familiar Center
The Bruins are again in the kind of roster conversation that tends to follow a team with more interesting young forwards than clean openings. James Hagens and Matthew Poitras are both pushing toward bigger roles, and Bostons current center picture has enough congestion that every available spot seems to come with a catch. The trick, as always, is finding a way to create room without upsetting the balance of the lineup.
One familiar option sits outside the organizations recent spotlight, even if he remains well known to Boston fans. Sean Kuraly has carved out a useful depth role since leaving the Bruins, and a reunion would come with the sort of practical appeal teams like when they are trying to manage a crowded middle six. The question is whether Boston can make the math work while keeping enough flexibility for the prospects it wants to see grow into the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Head Into Camp With One Roster Doubt Still Unsettled
As training camp draws closer, the Bruins still have a familiar-looking question hanging over the middle of their lineup. Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Fraser Minten and Sean Kuraly form the current top four down the middle, but the group still does not give Boston an obvious No. 1 center, and that uncertainty is part of what makes the coming weeks so important for the rosters shape.
The latest reminder came when the NHL Network unveiled its top 20 centers for the upcoming season without a Bruins player on the list, a notable omission for a team trying to reestablish itself among the leagues better clubs. There is also the separate matter of Matthew Poitras, who remains unsigned as camp nears, leaving Boston with one more unresolved piece in a position group that already lacks a clear answer at the top. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Need Lukas Reichel To Become The Answer At Center
Lukas Reichel arrives in Boston with a familiar kind of appeal for a team looking to solve a long-running question down the middle: enough talent to dream on, enough uncertainty to keep the price reasonable. The Bruins brought him in last March and have spent the months since viewing him as a possible middle-six center, the sort of low-cost swing that can pay off if the former first-round pick finally finds steadier production after uneven stretches with Chicago and Vancouver.
Reichels next step matters because the Bruins still need someone to seize that center role and make it look permanent, not temporary. There is at least some organizational comfort in the setup, with head coach Marco Sturm and other German players in the picture, and Boston is clearly hoping that familiarity helps bring out a more complete version of the player they think is still in there. The question now is whether this is the environment that finally turns potential into something the Bruins can actually rely on. [Read more 🡒]