Montreal Canadiens: Is Nick Suzuki in the same boat as Alex Galchenyuk?
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens struggled with finding out whether Alex Galchenyuk was a centre or a winger and Nick Suzuki may have the same debate heading his way.
The Alex Galchenyuk era with the Montreal Canadiens was a draining one. Galchenyuk was selected third overall in 2012 after having an injured season in Sarnia that saw him put up an incredible total of 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points in 33 games. He was meant to be the beginning of an upcoming age within the organization, and that feeling grew even stronger after making the team out of camp for the lockout-shortened season.
But like all drafted centres, Galchenyuk had to answer the question as to whether he could do it in the NHL. The Habs kept him on the wing for his first three years where his offensive production continued to grow. It wasn’t until the 2015-16 campaign when Galchenyuk would get his first true shot at centre.
Galchenyuk did spend a set of games on Lars Ellers‘ wing that year, but the combination of him down the middle with Max Pacioretty on his left worked. It resulted in a career year scoring 30 goals and adding 56 points.
The centre storyline took a massive hit after injuries cost Galchenyuk games while a bad first impression on Claude Julien made him playing centre a non-conversation starter.
Jonathan Drouin joined the Montreal Canadiens, and the focus shifted to him as the next franchise centre. Galchenyuk, on the other hand, was eventually moved to Arizona in exchange for Max Domi (great trade by the way) and the rest is history.
Why is this important? What does Alex Galchenyuk have to do with the Habs now that he’s two teams removed from Montreal?