The point about centers is getting the quality of centers to be a true contender. Not to be in line with an average NHL team. So when I talk about having a great 1-2 punch at center, I'm not talking about good enough to be argued as average in the league.
Turris is definitely a #1 center in terms of being one of the top 30 centers in the league, but the point is that if he is your #1 center, you are already behind the 8 ball because he is not one of the top 15 centers in the league by any means of measurement or subjectivity, so when you go up against the rest of the top teams whose #1 centers range from Crosby, Datsyuk, Bergeron, Giroux, Stamkos, Toews, Kopitar, Getzlaf, Thornton etc, you have to be better every where else. Not easy.
Which brings us to our #2 center. While Zbad has garnered enough PP points over the last two years to just crack the 50 point threshold, from an overall impact on the game perspective, he is a below average 2nd line center at best. And when your 1st line center is already over his head going head-to-head against the best centers in the world come playoff time, you hope you have the advantage on the 2nd line. And so it goes.
He may prove me wrong, but Zbad is a lot like Fisher and Vermette. Good enough to be a top 6 center on a losing team, but if he is one of your top 2 centers, you are not winning a cup. That has been the case with Fisher and Vermette through their careers. They've put up terrific numbers at times when given quality ice time, but they are not top 6 centers for a true contender. It's no surprise that when we made it to the cup, we added another center so we had great depth (Comrie) and we still ended up losing because we were essentially a one line team, despite having Comrie, Fisher and Vermette at center behind Spezza.
There are some exceptions to the elite 1-2 punch center formula that wins cup, but very few. The Rangers are an example of a team trying to capture an alternative formula and falling short. Many teams have come close and failed, while only a few (New Jersey a few times, and Anaheim once) have done it. And both of those teams were ridiculously stacked in other areas with hall of famers.
Of note, Kane is the real center on that Chicago line. A lot has been written on it already, but he roams everywhere with little defensive responsibility (by design of putting him on the wing), but once Chicago gets the puck, he is for all intents and purposes the center in terms of carrying the puck and dictating play.
Is Pageau, Lazar or even White going to elevate play above Zbad considerably? maybe White will. Maybe he won't be as good. And even if he is, centers are the most versatile forwards - they can easily move to the wing.
So if you get a chance to get an elite skilled center around the top 10 in the draft, you take him, unless another player is that much better overall. So if Jost or Keller or Brown are someone our scouts love, that last thing you do is veto for a position pick, especially when we have below average 1-2 centers right now. That's the point.
Boston Bruins 2023-24 Roster and Salary Cap Discussion IVX-post TDL
