Grant McCagg: “If Hughes didn’t make a trade, it’s because he believes in Kapanen as the second-line center.”

Pablo Herrera-Vergara
Grant McCagg: “If Hughes didn’t make a trade, it’s because he believes in Kapanen as the second-line center.”
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

The golf tournament and the rookie tournament are coming up, and hockey is finally in the air in Montreal. Barring a major turnaround, the Habs will head into training camp without a true top-6 center in the NHL.

That will be the battle to watch during camp. Oliver Kapanen, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Jake Evans should all have the opportunity to prove themselves.

Ideally, the Canadiens would have had a better option, but Kent Hughes didn't make any major trades this summer, and Michael Hage is expected to start the season in Michigan.

The high cost of the market is one reason for this situation, but Grant McCagg offers another theory.

In his latest podcast, he claims that Kent Hughes didn't make any trades because he believes Oliver Kapanen can fill the role of second-line center.

His theory is that Kent Hughes doesn't want to trade prospects for nothing, since he believes the solution can be found within the organization. Along the same lines, he also thinks the general manager believes David Reinbacher can play an important role as early as this season.

Well, let's start with Kapanen, who certainly scored 20 goals last year, but how many of those goals were made possible by Ivan Demidov's significant contribution, which made him look good?

During the regular season, the Finnish player did well, but in the playoffs, his style of play didn't translate as successfully. Last season, he got beaten up more often than he should have. I don't see him filling the second-line center role in the long term.

I'd rather go with Alex Newhook to fill that role at the start of the season. He played very well in the playoffs and was on an excellent offensive scoring streak before getting injured last season.

On defense, it's now or never for David Reinbacher. He needs to prove he belongs in the NHL, and I hope Martin St-Louis lets him start the season in Montreal, even if he makes a few mistakes.


In a Nutshell

– Imagine if that happened in the NHL.

– Great story.

– Pretty interesting.

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