Where Boston's center depth ranks in the Eastern Conference

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Let's get into it on today's episode of Lockdown Boston Bruins. Your Lockdown Bruins, your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. What is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the Lockdown Boston Bruins Podcast. I'm your host Ian McClarin and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke to be. I want to thank you so much for making Lockdown Bruins part of your day every single day. The podcast is free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And I encourage you to become an every dayer here in 2023-24. Just open up your favorite podcast app, Apple Spotify, pocket casts, go to YouTube, search out Lockdown Boston Bruins, hit that subscribe button and each new episode will be automatically added to your feeds, free to download, listen and enjoy. Now today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The official sportsbook of Lockdown, you can make every moment more with new customers can bet $5 and get 200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Visit fanduel.com slash Lockdown to get started today. I hope everybody has had a great week. It is Friday and we are looking at center depth around the Eastern Conference and assessing where the new look Bruins down the middle rank among them. Now I said the other day during my chat with Armando Vales of Lockdown Panthers that if you look at the Bruins goal tending, defense, their top wingers, they're among the elite at the NHL level. But if you looked just at the Bruins down the middle, you'd struggle to see the makings of a contender, maybe even a playoff team. And to kind of back that up, I thought I would look at each team in the Eastern Conference and assess what they have down the middle and come to a conclusion as to where the Bruins actually rank. It is the situation that dire or maybe the Bruins will be okay down the middle and they have enough there to at least be a playoff team. Let's start in the Atlantic division and we'll just go through here in alphabetical order. The Buffalo Sabers, they have an enviable group of centers. We're looking just at the top three lines here on today's episode, not really factoring in the Checking Line Center, more of the top nine situation here and Sabers as nice of a group as you'll see on any team around the NHL with Breakouts, Superstar Tage Thompson on the top line, Dylan Cousins, you broke out last season on the second line. And then you have Peyton Krebs, an up-and-comer who is penciled in as their third line center. Now I should add, I'm looking at Cat Friendly's Depth Charts here to get a sense of who slots where Thompson last season, 47 goals, 47 assists, Cousins 31 goals, 37 assists, so 94 points, 68 points respectively, Krebs, still a bit young, he's only what, he was a first round pick in 2019, has yet to have his Breakout season, but that could very well come here in 2023-24 with the Buffalo Sabers, so if I'm looking at ranking the Eastern Conference, Buffalo automatically jumps out as a team to watch. The Detroit Redwings, they have a star center in Dylan Larkin, a top, their Depth Charts, followed by a couple guys who are more similar, I guess, to Coil and Zaka in JT Comfort and Andrew Cobb, defensive responsibility from Comfort, Cobb, Larkin, a good two-way player in his own right, but brings more in terms of offense, you know, that's, that's not bad right there, I would take that as well, though you might want a bit stronger of the presence on the second line, Florida, much like Buffalo, a very enviable group of centers, Alexander Barkov, who joked that face-off, so it'll be easier to win now that Patrice Bergeron has retired, Selkie, written all over him, and also has high offensive upside, Sam Bennett has really come into his own as a Florida Panther and Anton Lundell, another one of those guys who is on the verge of breaking out, he could be put up to the wing as he has been in the past, but still, those three guys right now, penciled in as their top three centers and that is a nice, nice looking group there for the, for the Florida Panthers, next we have the Montreal Canadians, Nick Suzuki, Captain, huge contract, he's a guy that I have really been a fan of over the years since he played for a stint here in Guelph as a member of the Guelph Storm, he helped them win a championship back in 2019, 26 goals, 40 assists for 66 total points last season, durable player, and he's just getting better and better, he's only 24 years old, and they have a nice building block there. After him, you have Kirby Doc on the verge of breaking out, I think Alex Newhook, who is acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, penciled in as their third line center, maybe a bit to be desired there defensively, but there's a lot of offensive upside there for sure, and it's a nice young group they have in Montreal. Let's jump down to the Ottawa Senators, they too have a nice young group Tim Stutzler, arguably the best player from his draft class so far. They have Josh Norris penciled in as center number two, he missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, so he has a little bit to prove, and Shane Pinto currently unsigned, restrictive reagent, I actually saw a report the other day that teams may be looking into his availability including the Boston Bruins, 20 goals, 15 assists in 82 games last season, a nice 2019 draft pick there, second round pick, 22 years old, he's got a pretty nice two way game as well, so yeah, Ottawa very well set down the middle here for some time, if they can get Pinto under contract. Let's jump down to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brayden points coming off a 50 goal season, still well in his prime playing when they key to Couture of, anybody would love to have a guy like Brayden point down the middle as your top line center, Anthony Cerelli stepping in as second line center, kind of the crazy rule, not as much offensive upside as point, but again, very responsibly offensively and could be a guy who enters the selky conversation here coming up this season, they have Nick Paul as their third line center, again, a younger guy with some offensive pop, again, you can't really argue with their center depth, it's pretty strong. Let's finish the Atlantic Division portion here by looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Austin Matthews just signed that contract extension that will make him the league's highest paid player beginning next season, just as good of a center as you could ask for, Pucks on his stick could go in the net at any moment, he's also pretty strong defensively and he was, I believe, the league leader at his position in blocked shots, gets a bit dicey after them, John Tavaris, still a pretty good player, but well past his prime, not worth the $11 million that he's being paid, and then David Comff on your third line, probably more suited for a fourth line role, and that might be something that the Maple Leafs look to improve upon with Ryan O'Reilly choosing not to resign and moving on to the national predators. So, looking around the Atlantic Division, a lot of teams have some pretty good depth down the middle, you could argue the Bruins with Charlie Coil, Pavel Zaka, and Morgan Geeky, and or Trent Frederick, swapping in maybe better than what the Red Wings have altogether, perhaps better than what the Canadians have altogether, and maybe Ottawa too, Norris needs to be a bit healthier, Pinto, still young and relatively unproven, Matthew's Tavaris, still very strong, but Buffalo certainly, and Florida, the cream of the crop when it comes to center depth in the Atlantic Division, and coming up here after the break, we'll shift our attention over to the Metro and see what kind of center depth these teams have over there. This episode is brought to you by our friends over at Fandall and football season has kicked off, Fandall's giving you the chance to win all season long. Right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl winner, you can get bonus bets every time that team wins in the regular season. 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Text the word advertising to 33777, or visit locked-onpodcast.com slash advertising, and let us know who you are. Our team will assist you to achieve advertising success with Lockdown. Once again, text the word advertising to 33777, or visit locked-onpodcast.com slash advertising. We look forward to hearing from you. And thank you so much. Once again, for making Lockdown Boston Bruins part of your day every single day. We are three episodes a week for one more week, and then beginning September 18th. We will be back to daily shows. So please do subscribe so that you do not miss a brand new episode this coming season. All right, let's look at centered depth in the Metropolitan Division as we continue to assess where the Bruins actually rank here with Coil, Zaka, and presumably Morgan Geeky down the middle. Step down from Bergeron Crachy for sure, but not necessarily among the lowest groups inside the Easter conference. Carolina, you have a star player in Sebastian Ajo. You have on the third line, Jordan Stahl, who is a veteran many years in the NHL, a very strong defensive center, but getting up there and maybe losing a step or two. Second line is where it kind of can go either way. Right now, they have Yasperi Kokkin-Yemi. Of course, they poached in from the Montreal Canadiens on an offer sheet a couple of years ago. He hasn't really become the guy that people thought he would after being selected so high on the draft, and after the hurricanes made a large commitment to him. If he can become that kind of guy, then they'd be better set. But right now, you have Ajo. You can rely on Nighted and I out. Kokkin-Yemi, you're not sure what you're going to get, Jordan Stahl, getting up there in age, although still a very strong defensive center. Columbus Blue Jackets, they were able to draft a budding superstar in Adam Fantilly, but above them, it's more comparable to what the Bruins have. Boon Jenner would be their Charlie Coil-type guy, Jack Roslovich, up there, perhaps with Pavel Zacka, but I would put them below the Bruins, certainly with those three guys down the middle of Jenner, Roslovich, Fantilly with a lot of upside, but coming in as a rookie this season, can't expect him to hang necessarily with the top centers in the league. Now, New Jersey, like Buffalo, enviable center depth, of course, they do have Eric Halla on the third line. He was traded to the devils in exchange for Pavel Zacka. Again, I'd still thank them for that. I would make that trade every day of the week. However, above him, they have Niko Hishir, who, another silky candidate, who can put up points, average, I believe, almost or at a point per game last season. And then you have Jack Hughes, who was near triple digits last season, just getting better and better. I had him in my salary cap keeper league, made the decision to trade him this summer for Jason Robertson and Shane Wright. Still question that decision. Uh, Jack Hughes is as good as anti any center that doesn't play it Edmonton around the NHL in my opinion. New York Islanders, they're a bit weird. Right now, cat friendly has Bo Horvat, penciled in as their first line center with Brock Nelson and JG Pajot as their third line center. Of course, Matt Barzal is also a center and looks like Horvat and Barzal could be interchangeable at that position. Um, and we'll play together and attempt to play off each other offensively. Nelson, Pajot. Similar, I think to Coil and Zaka, whoever does play center between Horvat Barzal might put them over the Bruins. Um, of course, there's always that debate about not taking Matt Barzal. I mean, it's not really a debate. The Bruins should have taken Barzal, Kyle Connor, with those picks in 2015. Um, still, I'm still on board with Jake DeBrusk, not arguing that pick. Uh, but whoever takes the first line center role there will, uh, affect the ranking. Still both pretty good. And I'd put them both over Coil and Zaka as number one choices, if they were on the Bruins. The New York Rangers, you have Mika's advantage ad, an excellent player at his position, Vincent Trocheck, the Prius, as their second line center, with Philip Heidel on the third line with the kids played typically with Alex LaFranier and Capocaco in, uh, kind of depth scoring roles. I mean, Zabena Jad would be a great get. He would be the first line center automatically on the Bruins, so they probably have better depth than, than the Bruins at this point. Kicking it down here to the Peas, Philadelphia, Chocotourier, who's coming off a major injury. Let's see how effective he is. Of course, a former Selkie Trophy winner, Morgan Frost, who they just resigned is an up and coming potential number one center and, uh, Noah Cates as well. Those three guys, I would take Boston's group over them, uh, certainly at this point. Now Pittsburgh and Washington, they're similar to the Bruins situation, but maybe a couple years behind, meaning they have centers who will soon be on the outs and these teams like Boston now will have to try to fill holes left by legendary franchise players. In Pittsburgh, of course, you have Sydney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, and then on the third line, you have Jeff Carter. Malkin, Crosby, not quite what they used to be, but still, I would take them on my team any day of the week. Jeff Carter, even more so on the decline, but in that third line role could still be pretty effective. In Washington, you have Evgeny Cusnetsov, who I believe may or may not have made a trade request this summer. You have Nick Baxterim, who's coming off major hip surgery and then Dylan Strome. Those of you who have listened to the podcast for a while would know that I was big on Boston, trying to pry him away from the Chicago Black Oaks before he was acquired and signed with the capitals. Cusnetsov, on the decline, Baxterim may or may not even be able to play this year. They do have some good prospects coming up in Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapier, but right now, as it stands, Baxterim is a huge question mark, so the Bruins probably have a bit better center depth at the moment, all things being equal. All right, that was a quick look at each team center depth and coming up here after the break, we will assess where the Bruins rank among the Eastern Conference centers. Thank you so much once again for making Lockdown Bruins part of your day, and to wrap up today's episode, we are giving an honest assessment of where the Bruins rank here in the Eastern Conference in terms of center depth. Atop the list, it's hard to look at anybody other than Buffalo, Florida, and I'm going to say New Jersey as the top three teams in the Eastern Conference in terms of center depth. Following them, it gets a bit murkier because there are some veterans, guys who are on the verge of breaking out perhaps. Let's see here. Third and fourth, you might want to give it to the the Rangers, I think, with Zabanajad, Trochec, and Philip Heidel. The Islanders, Barzal Nelson Pazio with Horvat able to go in there. It's probably pretty strong. The Senators with Stutzla, Norris Pinto. And then the two other Atlantic teams in Toronto and Tampa Bay have to be up there as well. Teams that I would definitively put behind the Bruins, I think, would be the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers. That might be it. I mean, maybe the capitals because Backstrom appears to be done, whose nets of mayor may not want to be there. So I'll put them behind the Bruins as well. But that's pretty much it. I mean, even if you look at, say, the team's top line centers and would you rather have them than what the Bruins will be deploying on the top line, either in Coil or Zaka. You would take Ajo and Carolina. No question. You'd take Dylan Markin from Detroit, Nick Suzuki from Montreal, maybe even Kirby Doc. You would take Barzal or Horvat. You would take Stutzla, Philadelphia. None of those guys. You would take Braden Point, Anthony Cerelli, for sure. Definitely take Austin Matthews, maybe even John Tavares at this point. So the Bruins, when you actually look at the Eastern Conference and look at the position in terms of center depth, they're not in the top eight, certainly. And maybe outside the top 10. Offalo for sure. Florida, New Jersey. Easily. I'd put them over. I would say Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tampa Bay. That's 16s right there. Ottawa. Who else? Carolina. The only teams I would definitively put behind the Bruins in terms of overall center depth would be the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Philadelphia Flyers. Neither of those teams really have true number one centers. You could argue Cateria, but he's banged up frost on the rise. Every other team you would take their top line centers over what the Bruins have. Even cruise nets off. I could argue that you would take them. So that would leave the Bruins at around 13th in terms of center depth in the Eastern Conference. Now that's not to say that the Bruins are the 13th ranked team in the Eastern Conference. They're going to miss the playoffs. The thing is, is it enough to keep the team competitive? And you look at the goal tending, the defense, certainly. But you also look at the wingers that these guys will be playing with. And I think you're going to see a more uptempo Bruins offense. I think you're going to see Brad Martian, Jake DeBrusk, David Postinock, obviously elevate these two guys. And I mean, look, Pavel Zaka last season finished between Bergeron and Kreechi in scoring. Of course, he played a lot on the wing, but he certainly learned a lot from Kreechi. He developed some chemistry with Postinock. I can see his point totals rise. It's not going to be elite level production, like you see from sorry, Austin Matthews or Taj Thompson, even Dylan Cousins. Not what you'd see from Dylan Larkin, Nick Suzuki, Zabanejad, Stutzlub, you know, all these top line guys. The Bruins, if you look at top line centers, certainly they are way down there. If you look at all of it together, again, they're better than Philadelphia, Columbus. That might be it in terms of centered out. You can maybe make an argument. They're better than Detroit with Comfort and Cop. I think Morgan Yiki is going to be huge kind of ex-factor for the Boston Bruins. He signed from Seattle with the promise of more playing time. And if he can take some steps forward here in terms of production, if he can develop some chemistry with Trent Frederick, then that will be a huge bonus for the Boston Bruins. He had nine goals, 19 points, sort of 19 assists in 69 games last season. If he can challenge for 20 goals, 25 assists, 45 points in that third line role, then that would give the Bruins a huge advantage. So all together, Coil, Zaka, you know, it's going to work here. They're going to make it work here to begin the season. Is it a written and permanent marker situation for the entire season? No. Is it a long term solution? No. The Bruins will be active on the trade market. They're going to be active in free agency next summer, trying to find that top line center, because let's be honest, the situation would be a lot better if you had a legitimate top line center, and then Zaka and Coil playing on the second and third lines. Coil and Marsh on gel last year. Will it continue over 82 games? I don't know. Will Zaka and Pasternak be a formidable duo? Well, Pasternak will do his darn diss to elevate Zaka's game. And again, Morgan Geeky and Trent Frederick is where things will get interesting and where things might hinge for the Boston Bruins. Let me know what you think. Where do you think the Bruins center depth ranks? Drop a comment on YouTube, hit me up on social media at E&C McLaren, and we can continue the conversation here moving forward. Thank you so much for tuning in for checking out the podcast, especially to those who subscribe and are regular listeners, becoming every day or in 2023-24, by hitting that subscribe button. And we will talk to you again here on the next episode of Lockdown Boston Bruins, part of the Lockdown podcast network, your favorite team every single day. If you're a business owner, listen up. Your company could be mentioned right here. With the NHL season right around the corner, Lockdown has a special local's only NHL kickoff package. Two local businesses, yes, only two local businesses can sponsor this podcast for the upcoming NHL season. Find out how you can get this exclusive sponsorship, and hear your business on this podcast. Text the word advertising to 33777, or visit lockedonpodcast.com slash advertising, and let us know who you are. Our team will assist you to achieve advertising success with Lockdown. Once again, text the word advertising to 33777, or visit lockedonpodcast.com slash advertising. We look forward to hearing from you.