The NHL Network is continuing its offseason rankings series, and now we know the first two Boston Bruins inside the top 50. 

Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, who both made the NHL Network’s list at their respective positions, were ranked next to each other on the Top 50 Players Right Now list. Ten players will be revealed weekly, taking us all the way to the start of the regular season. 

Speaking of, the Bruins are 29 days away from opening night at the TD Garden. 

Elsewhere around the league, the big names remain in trade talks and rumors. There are a few trade packages that would send Connor Hellebuyck to Buffalo, along with a look at why the Bruins’ biggest rival won’t acquire Dylan Larkin. 

There are outlooks on what comes next in both Florida and Pittsburgh, as well as a prospect pool ranking and talks about the NHL’s involvement in the 2030 Olympics. 

Happy Monday, catch up on Bruins and league news in today’s Daily Bean:

Boston Bruins

SWAYMAN & MCAVOY: The NHL Network is starting to reveal the Top 50 Players Right Now list, starting with Nos. 50-41. Two Bruins, Jeremy Swayman and Charlie McAvoy, are ranked side-by-side, with McAvoy just ahead at No. 41. The NHL Network panel was full of praise for the two Bruins, calling McAvoy “underrated offensively” and saying Swayman “can take an average team and make them an above-average team.”

NHL.com: Here are the first 10 in the Top 50 Players Right Now. 

Nos. 40-31 will be revealed next Sunday at 7:00 PM.

Dylan Griffing (video via 𝕏): Check out this shootout goal by Kirill Yemelyanov, which ended up being the game-winner. 

NHL News & National Hockey Now

NHLTradeRumors.me: Connor Hellebuyck approved of a trade to Buffalo earlier this summer, but clearly it did not come to fruition. With all the chaos surrounding his public trade request, Dave Litman gathered some of the proposed trade packages that would send the game’s best goalie to Buffalo. 

Detroit Hockey Now: The NHL Network panel recently talked about Dylan Larkin’s future in Detroit. NHL Network analyst Mike Johnson thinks he knows Larkin’s ideal spot, and it’s not a team on his trade list. Bob Duff writes why a trade with the Montreal Canadiens will not happen. 

Florida Hockey Now: Gigantic contracts have been handed out all summer, with the title of the NHL’s highest-paid player changing hands three times since July 1. The Panthers have been on the sidelines, but it will not be that way for long. George Richards dives into which Panther may be the first to make more than Aleksander Barkov’s $10M AAV. 

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Last season was supposed to be a transitional phase in Pittsburgh, but they landed in the playoffs. Will that be the case again? Dan Kingerski looks at the reasons for optimism, but even more reasons for regression. 

Daily Faceoff: Daily Faceoff has ranked every team’s prospect pool over the past two months. Here are the final rankings, which include the Bruins’ prospect pool finishing 17th, up from 21st last season. 

The Athletic: Marty Walsh does not think it will be a big challenge to keep NHL players at the Olympics in 2030. International play was one of the priorities (and successes) for Walsh during his tenure as the executive director of the NHLPA, as well as growing the game on the international level. 

The IOC president also mentioned that the Olympics help the NHL with ratings, while Walsh challenged that. There were 18.6 million average viewers in the US for the gold medal game, with 8.7 million more in Canada. Imagine if the start time was any later than 8 am ET?

Bruins Offseason Schedule

Friday, September 11: Rookie Camp opens – Warrior Ice Arena, Brighton, MA

Sun, Sept 13-Mon, Sept 14: Prospects Showcase – LECOM Harborcenter, Buffalo, NY

Wednesday, September 16: Training Camp opens – Warrior Ice Arena, Brighton, MA

Sunday, September 20: First preseason game – TD Garden, Boston, MA

Tuesday, September 29: Home opener – TD Garden, Boston, MA

FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON 𝕏  | FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON 𝕏