Why Bruins shouldn't trade No. 7 pick in 2025 NHL Draft for veteran help originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

It’s very hard to win in the NHL, and especially deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, without a legit No. 1 center or at the very least two top-six caliber centers.

We just watched a Stanley Cup Final where the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers put on a scoring clinic — 45 combined goals through six games — with elite centers such as Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading that effort.

The Winnipeg Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy with Mark Scheifele as their top center. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division with Auston Matthews. The Vegas Golden Knights won the 2023 Stanley Cup title with Jack Eichel as their No. 1 center. The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022 with Nathan MacKinnon, who might be the second-best player in the world. The Carolina Hurricanes have reached the Eastern Conference final two of the last three seasons with Sebastian Aho playing as a No. 1 center.

It’s not a coincidence that pretty much every contending team has an elite player at this position. And it’s not a surprise that the Bruins struggled throughout the 2024-25 season without one.

Sure, the Bruins were able to get by in 2023-24 after the retirements of longtime center duo Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. But those absences finally caught up to the Bruins this past season, and it’s time for the franchise to find its next great center.

Luckily for the Bruins, they have the No. 7 overall pick — their highest first-round selection since 2011 — in the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday night. The 2025 class is very deep at center, and it’s possible that six or seven centers could be taken in the first 10 picks.

It’s a great opportunity for the Bruins to select a player who can be a top-six center and consistently drive offense for a decade or more. This is why trading the No. 7 pick for a veteran player who can help the Bruins win next season would be a foolish move.

The best way to find No. 1 centers is through the draft. These kinds of players are super expensive to acquire on the trade market and free agency. For example, four of the five-highest salary cap hits last season belonged to centers. Very few No. 1 centers even reach free agency anymore. Teams just don’t let that happen.

The Bruins also don’t have a center prospect who is capable of filling a top-six role anytime soon. Boston’s prospect pool is consistently rated among the worst in the league. For example, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler rated the Bruins No. 30 out of 32 teams in his latest prospect pool rankings back in January.

Matt Poitras and Georgii Merkulov could become NHL regulars, but they are not going to be franchise centers. Veteran Elias Lindholm is being paid like a top-six center, but he did not perform at that level in his debut season with the Bruins.

Several players who could be available at No. 7 in this year’s draft — such as James Hagens, Jake O’Brien, Brady Martin and Roger McQueen — do have the potential to be top-six centers someday.

One argument for trading the No. 7 pick would be the Bruins have a core of players in their primes and the team needs to capitalize on that window. But the Bruins’ franchise pillars — David Pastrnak (29), Charlie McAvoy (27), Jeremy Swayman (26) and Hampus Lindholm (31) — are not old. Only Lindholm is above the age of 30. If the Bruins draft a good center and develop him for a year or two, that player should be ready to make a genuine impact at the NHL level while those aforementioned veterans still have several good years remaining.

Look at the Washington Capitals. They drafted Boston College forward Ryan Leonard with the No. 8 pick in 2023, and less than two years later he was playing for them in the playoffs.

If the Bruins really want to add a veteran forward who can help the team win next season, they should try to use some of their future draft picks in a potential trade. Boston has two first-round picks in 2026 and could also have two in 2027. They also have four second-round picks over the next three drafts, including two this year. They might not need to trade the No. 7 pick to get immediate help.

The Bruins desperately need a franchise center. The best way to get one is a top 10 draft pick. And in a stroke of good luck, the Bruins have one of those picks in a year where lots of center prospects are worthy of a high first-round selection.

It’s the perfect opportunity for the Bruins to add an elite talent at a premium position. Wasting it could be a catastrophic mistake.