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Sean Monahan plays on the first trio to boost his market value

 Manuel Sperandio-Lemay
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Sean Monahan plays on the first trio to boost his market value

Yesterday, at noon, I wrote a piece on the issues to watch for as the Canadiens’ training camp gets underway over the next few weeks. There were 10 of them, in no particular order.

Of the lot: who will play with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the first line?

It’s an interesting question because nothing is simple. There are several solutions, but none of them is “perfect” for management or for Martin St-Louis.

Kirby Dach could be an option, but I see him at center. I don’t think the Habs, who want to make him a long-term center, will want to put him back on the wing in October.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard? With the injured returning, I don’t think so.

In reality, I think it’s going to come down to Josh Anderson, Sean Monahan and maybe Alex Newhook. It’s going to come down to centers on the wing, and maybe the CH will want to manage Newhook like Dach did last year.

To discuss the subject and my article, Tony Marinaro invited me to his Sick Podcast last night. And when we talked about the first trio, he asked me an interesting question.

And that was? This one:

If you’re Kent Hughes, which player do you want on your first line?

It’s an interesting point of view, since even though Martin St-Louis makes his line-up, it’s still Kent Hughes who’s his boss. And to know what he thinks about the question is interesting.

According to Marinaro, if Kent Hughes has his way, Sean Monahan will be playing in that chair.

Playing on the first line (and the CH can afford to do so, since when Christian Dvorak is able to play, the club has six center players), Monahan would have points galore.

And if he has mass points, he’s attractive to other teams. That’s good for the CH, which would have options.

We don’t know exactly what the GM will do at the deadline with Monahan, since it’s too early to think about it. We don’t know if he’ll be healthy or if the CH will want to sell him.

We do know, however, that the contract is designed to facilitate a potential transaction.

I have a feeling, based on my discussion with Tony, that if the CH doesn’t start the year with Monahan alongside the young stars, they could go down the road, question of putting him in the showcase.

I’m still predicting that Josh Anderson will start the season on the first trio… but if Monahan is there, I’ll have a thought for Tony, who was right on the money.


In brief

– The continuation of a great challenge for the Bear.

– Interesting.

– We agree.

– The Blue Jays’ offense needs to wake up.

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