The core that needs to stay together for the Bruins
The Boston Bruins are in a little bit of a weird situation coming into the summer offseason. The B's top-two players from the 2021-22 season (Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand) are on the older side, but the club still has a young enough core to build around.
Let's be real. The Bruins were a top NHL team over the past 10 to 12 seasons next to the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Tampa Bay Lightning. The 2011 Boston Bruins that won the Stanley Cup rank as a top 5 team from the 2010s, in my books. The B's also made the Finals in both 2014 and 2019, a lot more than most NHL teams can say.
With core players from those teams like Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask gone, and now there's uncertainty around Patrice Bergeron's future with the club, fans are asking general manager Don Sweeney to blow things up.
The current core of the Boston Bruins that should be untouchable this offseason are:
- Brad Marchand
- David Pastrnak
- Charlie McAvoy
- Hampus Lindholm
- Taylor Hall
- Jeremy Swayman
Obviously, there's the uncertainty of captain Patrice Bergeron, but if he wants to come back, I think you make that happen. Players the Bruins should be willing to move are Jake Debrusk, Mike Reilly, Matthew Grzelcyk and possibly Linus Ullmark. Boston will only have $5 million in cap space with a focus on a top-six centre and/or Bergeron's future.
There's no need to blow things up entirely and start a rebuild, but something that might not be totally out of question at this point.
Give us your thoughts!
