Two years later, the Canadiens still have the same damn problem

Maxime Truman
Two years later, the Canadiens still have the same damn problem
Credit: YouTube (capture d'écran)

The season is just around the corner, and the Canadiens still haven't found their No. 2 center.

Louis Jean said Tuesday night on 98.5 FM that Kent Hughes would have liked to have been more active during the offseason but wasn't able to be.

The options to start the season at center on the second line are therefore the same as last year: Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, Jake Evans, Kirby Dach, and Michael Hage Phillip Danault.

Does that mean the position effectively goes to Oliver Kapanen?

He scored 22 goals in his first NHL season last year, but he hasn't found the back of the net in his last 17 games (including the playoffs). When the play got more physical and tight, he faded into the background.

Brian Wilde also reminded Tony Marinaro on The Sick Podcast that Kapanen was benched 12 times during the playoffs. Can we really say that the second-line center position belongs to him by default?

Jake Evans? Phillip Danault? In my humble opinion, these are two centers who MUST play on the bottom six if the team paying them truly wants to contend for major honors.

Kirby Dach? Forget it! He'll get one last chance in Montreal, and it clearly won't be at center on the second line. He's likely to start the season on the wing on the bottom six—that's it.

That leaves only Alex Newhook on the (too long) list of potential candidates.

Brian Wilde wants to see Alex Newhook on the second line—Newhook is entering the final year of his contract and will want to perform well to secure his financial future. That said, hopefully he'll play on the wing, not at center.

“He's not good at the faceoff circle, he's not great when it comes to the responsibilities (that come with playing center), and I certainly don't want to see him at center. He'd have less freedom (than on the wing) to use his speed.” – Brian Wilde on The Sick Podcast

Newhook had an excellent playoff run last spring, scoring no fewer than seven goals in 19 games. He was playing on the wing alongside Ivan Demidov (and Jake Evans). I'm convinced he wouldn't have been nearly as successful if he'd played center.

Honestly, it's a little discouraging. I feel like the Canadiens are getting close to a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup… and for two years now, we haven't been able to find a true No. 2 center.

I'm sure Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are working hard to make it happen, that they're putting in all the necessary effort, but just like a goal-scorer, they'll have to put it in the net at some point. We need results.

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