“If Hage becomes the 3rd line center, the Habs could go to the finals”

There’s every reason to believe that the Canadiens will have what it takes over the next few years to become one of the National League’s top clubs.

There’s already a great base in place, but there are also youngsters growing within the organization.

For example? Jacob Fowler, Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher… The list is long, to put it another way.

Even Simon Boisvert – who has never hesitated to criticize the Flanelle – seems optimistic about the coming years.

He was on Tony Marinaro’s Sick Podcast last night to talk about the next generation… And he said we shouldn’t forget that Demidov and Hage will be joining the current forward group.

The Snake goes even further: with the talent that’s going to be there, maybe a guy like Michael Hage won’t have a choice but to play on the third line… And if that happens, Simon Boisvert believes the Habs will make it to the finals because of the club’s depth:

If Michael Hage becomes the center of the 3rd line eventually, the Habs go to the finals. Because Michael Hage is a hockey player. – Simon Boisvert

It’s rare to see Boisvert so optimistic.

He’s often easy to criticize when he talks about the Habs and their hopes… But here, you can really feel that he’s sincere in his words.

On the other hand, it’s true that the Habs will have talent to spare, and the club will have to find a way to take advantage of it.

Quickly though, if the first three trios look anything like this, the Habs could be in a car:

• Demidov – Suzuki – Caufield
• Slaf – Dach – (Free agent or quality acquisition)
• Roy – Hage – Newhook

Obviously, combinations can change according to preference.

But one thing is clear: there will be quality in the top-9, and Montreal hasn’t seen that in a long time.

It promises to be exciting, at least.