The Boston Bruins are in a position to do some spending this off-season, as they have cap space to work with. Bruins management has also made it clear that their goal is to make the Original Six club become a playoff team as soon as possible, so it should be a busy summer in Boston.
With the Bruins having a good amount of cap space, many have brought up the possibility of them targeting Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Mitch Marner if he becomes a free agent on July 1. Bringing in an elite talent like Marner would give the Bruins an incredible one-two punch at right wing with David Pastrnak, so it certainly would be significant if they won the sweepstakes for the 2015 first-round pick's services. Yet, at the same time, spending big bucks on Marner would still not solve Boston's biggest issue right now.
The Bruins have still not found a legitimate star center for their first line since the retirement of future Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron, and that is certainly their biggest issue right now. While the Bruins signed Elias Lindholm to a seven-year deal this past off-season and acquired Casey Mittelstadt from the Colorado Avalanche during the season, they still need that true 1C.
Overall, if the Bruins landed Marner this summer, there is no question that he would greatly improve their top six and give them a 100-point player on their second line. This would be fantastic, as he would help the Bruins become more than just a one-line team. However, he would not solve the Bruins' massive first-line center issue, and Boston would have limited cap space to address that if they brought in the Toronto star. This is because Marner is undoubtedly set to get a massive payday with whatever team he lands with.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Bruins target Marner on July 1. He would be a big-time pickup for a Bruins team needing more stars, but management would still have more work to do to help the club down the middle.
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