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Montreal Canadiens’ Alex Galchenyuk At The Centre Of Attention

By Lissa Albert

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Montreal Canadiens’ Alex Galchenyuk At The Centre Of Attention

There has been much talk throughout the season about Montreal Canadiens’ Alex Galchenyuk and what position he plays – or should play. Many believe he should play at centre, others believe his place is on the wing.

Interestingly enough, when you search for his statistics, he is listed as “C”. Even on the Canadiens’ website roster, that is what is officially listed.

Why is he listed as a centre, but playing on the wing?

A little history: when Galchenyuk played in the OHL (Sarnia Sting) he played centre. In 2012, his coach, Jacques Beaulieu, moved him to the wing in order to keep him on a line with Charles Sarault (who currently plays in the AHL) and Reid Boucher. While together, the trio was a formidable line and with Boucher already at centre, Galchenyuk played wing.

He saw great success in that position – 61 points in 33 games – and Montreal started him on the wing when the NHL lockout ended and he joined the team that had newly drafted him.

With a 48-game season – in which he played every game – and a 51-point run (17 goals, 34 assists), it was natural to keep Galchenyuk where he was playing.

But two additional seasons later, and only a few games played at centre this season, all talk has turned to Galchenyuk being underused, and many want to see him play centre regularly.

Marc Bergevin has not committed to this idea:

He qualified his remarks:

"Just so you know, halfway through his last junior year in Sarnia he was moved to the wing. He’s comfortable on the wing. As we speak today he’s not a full-time centreman. Will he be? Time will tell. Right now, he’s more comfortable on the wing. At the end of the day, I can’t tell you when or if he’ll be a centreman.At the end of the day, (Galchenyuk) may never be a centreman. Right now it doesn’t look like he ever will be. He might be, he could be, but I don’t want to just focus on him. … Playing centre in the NHL is not that easy, when he was playing (junior in) Sarnia, they put him on the wing. So maybe they saw something that we saw."

Did Bergevin’s comments seem harsh? A little perspective:

Fans are concerned because this season, for most of the 82 games – and playoffs – it was David Desharnais centering Max Pacioretty and whichever player Michel Therrien put on the right wing. And Desharnais is limited by his size. To have 6’1 Galchenyuk in the centre instead of 5’7 Desharnais seems like an obvious choice.

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But Desharnais plays well with Pacioretty – and we’ve seen the chemistry between the two. Desharnais ended regular season with a 52.9% in the face-off circle, and posted some impressive numbers during playoffs as well.

The game requires shuffling of players to find them the optimum roles to play. Would I like to see Galchenyuk play on the first line with Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher? That’s a resounding yes.

However, I don’t create the lines. Nor does any other fan, analyst, radio host or commentator. That’s strictly up to the coach, and the pieces he has to work with – each and every game.

Let’s remember, too, that anything can happen in the summer months; with a draft coming up 5-1/2 weeks from now, trades that could take place during the off-season, and even trades during the season, the pieces will likely change, and fall into place in very different formation.

How does Galchenyuk feel about this?

Perfect diplomatic answer from a guy who knows he’s at the centre of an ongoing discussion in Habs Nation.

I believe – after a contract is agreed upon for this RFA – we might begin to see movement. For now, with no hockey to be played, all it remains is Talk.

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