Do the Bruins have a potential No. 1 center already on their roster?

Don Sweeney and the Bruins’ top brass have plenty of work to do this summer to take another step forward next season amid an increasingly cutthroat Atlantic Division field.

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As Sweeney and Cam Neely stressed last Wednesday, speed and skill appear to be the top priority for a team that couldn’t keep up with the deeper and faster Sabres in the playoffs. ​

But, as Neely admitted at TD Garden, Boston’s efforts toward shifting from a retooling team into a contender are likely stuck in neutral so long as there’s a glaring vacancy in the middle of the forward corps.

“We all, in this room, recognize we don’t have a true No. 1 C,” Neely said. “That’s something we want to try to rectify, whether it’s this offseason or those guys growing into it. But it’s something we know that’s needed.”

Finding a franchise center — one capable of driving play and making his presence felt on special teams — is easier said than done.​

It’s an organizational north star that the Bruins have been in pursuit of since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci hung up their skates in 2023. Boston’s retooling status is largely rooted in the club’s inability to cultivate a sustainable succession plan.

Despite the Bruins’ hopes of Elias Lindholm being able to replicate at least some of Bergeron’s two-way prowess, the 31-year-old has labored in his two years in Boston, with a lingering back injury sapping some of his skating ability.

Pavel Zacha, fresh off a career season with 30 goals and 65 points, could function as a versatile and effective second-line center. But it’s likely asking too much for him to fill a top-line role, while his struggles in the postseason (two goals in 31 games) raise some eyebrows.

The Bruins could try to pool picks, prospects, and other assets into a hefty trade package this summer to try to pluck established center Robert Thomas out of St. Louis. But given the low supply of true elite pivots, the asking price will be exorbitant.

“Even at the trade deadline as you’re exploring, whether it’s this time or the summertime, you realize that when you do make a call about a player of that nature you’ve just described, the guy on the other side says there’s not even 32 of them in the league,” Sweeney said.

Trades for distressed assets or players marked with red flags such as Elias Pettersson or Mason McTavish could be a potential pivot for Sweeney and his staff if they’re banking on upside and willing to invite even more risk.

Another avenue might require more patience. But if the Bruins are willing to play the long game, could they already have potential top-line centers on their roster in Fraser Minten and James Hagens?​

Even with the expected growing pains for the 21-year-old Minten and 19-year-old Hagens, Neely believes the upside is there for both to anchor Boston’s pivot pipeline for the foreseeable future.

“I think they both have that skill set,” Neely said. “They’re both a little different players. One’s more like Bergy as far as a 200-foot player and maybe [doesn’t] see the ice as well as Hagens does.

“Hagens’s head is up all the time, he’s constantly looking to distribute … Whether they either become No. 1 centers is up to them and how that goes for them and what the path is for them. We want to give these guys every opportunity to take a job that’s staring at them.”

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Minten, who played a full 82 games this season at center, has all the makings of a future middle-six stalwart.

Initially projected as more of a two-way, third-line center in the NHL, Minten spent a hefty portion of this season on a top line next to David Pastrnak and Marat Khusnutdinov.

Minten’s floor as a dependable 200-foot centerman is already established. If he can grow his offensive game after tallying 17 goals and 35 points in his first full NHL campaign, Boston could have a franchise fixture.

“People originally described Fraser as one player,” Sweeney said. “Why put a ceiling there? We’ll see what he’s going to do. I think you described that Bergy necessarily wasn’t described as the Hall of Fame player that he became when he first started out of the gate. But that being said, we’re hoping that every one of those guys hits their high side.”

Hagens offers higher upside in terms of a true top-line center — capable of carving up defenses and elevating his linemates.

But given his age and lack of experience, it’s unrealistic to expect him to thrive as a 70-point stalwart in 2026-27.

A start on the wing appears to still be the expected path for Hagens, before shifting him to the middle.

“James will get a chance in the middle of the ice,” Sweeney said. “The entry point’s a little easier on the wing, as we’ve always talked about.”

The Bruins would welcome any scenario where Hagens or Minten thrives and eventually seizes a top-line role, with the other settling into a vital second-line spot.

But as is the case with every young player, there’s often a wide amount of variance between projected production and profiles — and what actually presents itself over a season.​

There’s a lot to like about Hagens and Minten and how they could grow into key players.

But it remains to be seen if the Bruins’ front office — looking to capitalize on any momentum seized by a brief playoff run — has the patience needed to let both youngsters grow into those critical roles.​

“It sometimes has to be by committee,” Sweeney said of identifying top-line centers. “Hopefully, you grow and you strike oil.”

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