WILMINGTON — Pavel Zacha is nothing if not adaptable.

Drafted sixth overall in 2015 by the New Jersey Devils as a natural centerman, Zacha split time between center and wing throughout his six years in Jersey. When he arrived in Boston in 2022, the B’s had two excellent centers in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, and Zacha became a regular winger, with an eye toward moving back to the middle if Bergeron and Krejci decided to move on.

Sure enough, both foundational pivots retired after the ‘22-23 campaign and Zacha, after spending much of the offseason focusing on improving his faceoffs, was given a shot at center. His draw numbers spiked (up from 45.3% to 54.8%) and, for the second season in a row, he enjoyed a career-high in points with a 21-38-59 line.

But with his third season with the Bruins on the horizon, it appears the on-again off-again pivot is about to, well, pivot again.

Those good faceoff numbers, both from Zacha and Charlie Coyle, did not hold up in the playoffs (Zacha’s fell to 47.4%) and GM Don Sweeney decided to consummate his years-long chase for solid two-way center Elias Lindholm, signing the Swede to a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $7.75 million.

While nothing is set until it plays out in training camp in September, it’s a good bet Zacha could be asked to move back to wing.

Zacha has learned to lean into his versatility since coming to the Bruins, and communication from Jim Montgomery and the coaching staff has helped.

“Yeah, he called me. He’s really good about talking to me about these situations,” said Zacha after a workout at the B’s old practice facility at Ristuccia Arena. “He’s one of the coaches who likes to (mix and match linemates) to see how it works. There are some plans that I might be on a wing, kind of like I played with Krejci, some where I might be at center. But I think just from talking to him, I’m very comfortable with where he wants me in the lineup or how much trust he’s going to give me throughout the season and we’ll go from there. I think it’s hard for him, with so many changes, to know how it’s going to click, but that’s what training camp is for, to see how everyone’s doing. But it’s always good to be on a team to that’s getting better every year.”

One of the combos that’s been bandied about – and makes a lot of sense – has Zacha as the first line left wing with Lindholm in the middle and David Pastrnak on the right wing. Zacha had played on Pastrnak’s opposite wing with Krejci in the middle two years and it helped to produce a 61-goal season from Pastrnak.

“For me to have the opportunity to play with players like that … I think that would be a great line – a righty centerman like when Krejci was in the middle,” said the 6-foot-4, 207-pound Zacha. “That would be fun. But some preseason games would be nice to see what clicks. It’s great that we’re getting stronger offensively to the point that, whoever you’re going to play with is going to be a good line.”

Zacha said he’s in a much better place to handle being moved around the lineup since he’s come to Boston than when he was in Jersey, where he said he often didn’t know where he stood.

“The conversation (with the coaches) just gives you a little bit more confidence that they have a vision for you of what they need in the game and for the team and this is what you’re going to help them with, so you feel comfortable with that,” said Zacha. “So that’s better than just getting bounced around without them talking to you. You think ‘Oh, was I not good enough at center? Is that why I’m going back to the wing?’ That’s something they’ve done a good job with over the last two years. And being in the top six, whether it’s at center or wing, is where I’ve always wanted to be. You want to stay there and hopefully take the next step and help those lines even more than last year.”

Zacha, 27, has used this offseason to work out smarter, not harder. Whereas last year he took a just a week off at the end of the season before diving back into his skates and workouts, he took close to three weeks off after playing for Czechia in the World Championships. And with some of the uncertainty surrounding which position he’ll be playing, he delved more into video work, seeing what worked for him in certain situations and what didn’t.

“I feel great on the ice and great off the ice and I’m even more excited to play,” said Zacha. “When you take more time off, then you miss it a little bit more. That’s something I’ve tried this year and I think it’s paying off with how I feel.”

Loose pucks

We’re three weeks away from rookies reporting for duty in Brighton and still there’s no contract extension for goalie Jeremy Swayman, the B’s clear No. 1 since the trade of Linus Ullmark in June. But much like the stance Swayman took with reporters earlier this week, team president Cam Neely sounded very confident a deal will be struck.

“Something will get done, there’s no question,” Neely told WZLX. “Not every negotiation is as smooth as you’d like it. I know our fan base would like to have something done by now. I’m fully confident that both sides will come to an agreement before too long here.”

The guess here is that the deal will come in somewhere between Juuse Saros’ deal ($7.74 million) and Andrei Vasilevskiiy’s ($9.5 million), depending on the term. The B’s have $8,636,667 in cap space, according to puckpedia.com, so you know which number they’d prefer to be closer to. … The Bruins are kicking off a 100 Days of Hockey outreach campaign starting on Friday with their FanFest in Lewiston, Maine. The 100-day initiative will feature community activities and youth hockey programming throughout New England, culminating with the Bruins’ Centennial Game on Dec. 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.