It's no surprise to hockey fans that the Boston Bruins are going to look a lot different on opening night in 2023 than they did a year ago. The team has been absolutely gutted, most notably by the expected retirements of longtime faces of the franchise in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Those two hanging up the skates was just the tip of the iceberg; Dmitry Orlov, Connor Clifton, Tyler Bertuzzi, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Garnet Hathaway helped to make up the greatest regular season team in NHL history, and will all be in a different city on opening night.

In 2023-24, the bill has come due in Massachusetts. No more will Bergeron grace the league with his once-in-a-generation two-way play, and his departure more than any other leaves a huge hole down the middle. With him and Krejci gone, the depth chart at center becomes extremely questionable.

The Bruins need a center

As currently constructed, these are the four forwards who will hold down the middle of the ice for the Boston Bruins next season: Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and either Patrick Brown or Jesper Boqvist. Although Zacha would be an excellent 2C, as he was last year, and Coyle would be solid at 3C, neither of those two have the 1C potential that a Stanley Cup contender generally requires.

The center ice position is one that the Bruins' brass has never really had to worry about, but that is no longer the case in 2023. If the team plans to remain competitive (and give David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand the linemates they deserve), it seems certain that the only avenue would be a trade either at the end of the offseason or sometime next year.

Losing both of your top-six centers in one offseason is absolutely brutal, especially when it happens deep into free agency. But before exploring an ideal trade candidate for the team, it makes sense to flesh out the internal candidates on the roster first.

Internal candidates

If a trade doesn't materialize, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha are the players who will be filling the No. 1 and No. 2 center spots for the Bruins next season.

Coyle obviously doesn't bring the defensive game that Bergeron did, but he's a very solid two-way player with a high hockey IQ. One of his more underrated traits is protecting the puck along the boards, and being able to create meaningful plays in high-danger situations. As he is more of a complete two-way player than Zacha, he would probably play on the first line with Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk.

Zacha spent the 2022-23 season alongside David Pastrnak, where he thrived. Along with David Krejci, the Czech line had excellent chemistry and ended up being one of the best second lines in the league, and one of the most productive overall. Zacha enjoyed career highs in goals with 21 and assists with 36 last season, and there's still room for improvement, especially if he can crack the top powerplay unit without Bergeron and Krejci.

While Coyle and Zacha as a one-two punch isn't perfect, it's better than the average hockey fan would think, and with superstar wingers in Marchand and Pastrnak playing with them, it could work. Still, there's one player who would fit in beautifully with the Bruins style of hockey: Elias Lindholm.

Ideal trade target: Elias Lindholm

Elias Lindholm is an exceptional hockey player, and it's no longer a secret that he isn't planning to re-sign with the Calgary Flames when his contract ends next summer. Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele would also look good in a Bruins jersey, but as the team doesn't have a ton of trade chips as it is and Lindholm would be a slightly cheaper option, he seems to be the safer bet in a potential trade.

Lindholm is a phenomenal two-way center staring down unrestricted free agency next summer, and if it is true that he doesn't want to re-up in Alberta, Flames GM Craig Conroy will have no choice but to trade him, or risk losing him for nothing as a free agent. Lindholm is a more attractive target than Scheifele not only because he's cheaper — he's also two years younger and better on the defensive side of the puck. He has tallied 20-plus goals in four of the last five seasons, including a career high 42 tucks in 2021-22.

Boston should find a way to trade for Elias Lindholm and subsequently sign him to a long-term deal, similar to what the New York Islanders did with Bo Horvat last season. If that happens, it would go a long way into keeping the Bruins a formidable team in the Eastern Conference.