Have The Montreal Canadiens Opened A Top Six Role For Jesperi Kotkaniemi?

The Montreal Canadiens turned a few heads when they selected Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. Have they cleared the way for the 19 year old to play a prominent role next season?

The Montreal Canadiens passed on a few wingers with the third overall pick and decided to fill an organizational need. There is not question that the team was lacking at the center ice position for most of the past two decades. They attempted to fill that void by taking Jesperi Kotkaniemi instead of Filip Zadina or Brady Tkachuk who were ranked higher by most draft prognosticators.

It wasn’t that far of a reach. No one had Kotkaniemi falling to the second round, or even beyond the top ten of the draft. He was definitely the best center available in the draft and the Canadiens were happy to take him with the third overall pick.

Kotkaniemi surprised many around the hockey world when he showed up at Canadiens camp last season and played well enough to earn a roster spot. Many thought he would get a nine game audition before being sent back to Finland. If he only played nine games, he would not burn a year off his entry-level contract. Nine games came and went and Kotkaniemi was too good to send back to a struggling Liiga team. He needed to stay and play center for the Montreal Canadiens.

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Kotkaniemi played a bit of a sheltered role, not taking assignment against top players on the opposition, but he flourished in the role. His line constantly dominated play, and though he finished with 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games, his defensive intelligence and ability to create scoring chances for his linemates showed he could be a top six center in the near future.

The question that lingers now is: how soon can he fulfill that role? Is he going to be a third line center again next season, or is he ready to jump into the top six?

If you look at the moves made by general manager Marc Bergevin this summer, they may be making a clear path for Kotkaniemi to take on a prominent role this season.

The Canadiens biggest move of the offseason was to extend an offer sheet to center Sebastian Aho. The offer was matched by the Carolina Hurricanes and the Habs didn’t really make a big splash after not getting the star center from the Hurricanes. There only moves after that were to sign Nick Cousins, Ben Chiarot and Keith Kinkaid. None of those players are going to fill top six roles at forward.

So, compared to last year’s forwards, the Canadiens have brought in a depth option in Cousins and will have rookies Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki in training camp looking for a role. They also traded Andrew Shaw to the Chicago Blackhawks for a trio of draft picks, opening up a prominent role in the Canadiens lineup.

Shaw ended last season playing in the top six with Max Domi at center at either Jonathan Drouin or Artturi Lehkonen on left wing. Domi was the leading scorer on the team last season, so a slot next to him is a pretty desirable role.

Claude Julien would be foolish to plait up the line of Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher. They were one of the best two-way lines in the league last season. Domi and Drouin are also top six players for sure. That leaves one spot open in the top six heading into training camp. Who is the most likely player to grab that position?

Well, it depends on what position Domi plays next year. If he stays at center, obviously the team needs a winger to step up and take on a big role left vacant by Shaw. That could be Joel Armia, Paul Byron or Artturi Lehkonen. Armia and Lehkonen are in their mid-twenties and have struggled to provide consistent offence to this point in their careers. Byron has proven to be a 20 goal threat from the bottom six, but part of what makes him so valuable is that he provides offence from the third line.

So, how do the Canadiens fill Shaw’s void, while keeping Lehkonen, Armia and Byron in the bottom six where they belong? How about paving a way for 19 year old Jesperi Kotkaniemi to play a huge role next season?

Think about it. The Canadiens just missed the playoffs last season. They have tons of cap space available to use if they wish and they haven;t spent it. How do they expect to get better? They must be counting on big performances from young players who will be demanding bigger roles next season.

The Canadiens center depth right now has Domi leading the way, followed by Danault, Kotkaniemi, Poehling and Nate Thompson. What if Domi is moved back to the wing to fill the void left by Shaw? That would move Kotkaniemi up the lineup to play with Domi and Drouin on his wings.

This would also give Poehling the opportunity to take on a third line center role which would be better for his development than playing ten minutes per night as a fourth line player. Suddenly, the Canadiens lines would look like this:

Tatar – Danault – Gallagher

Drouin – Kotkaniemi – Domi

Byron – Poehling – Armia

Lehkonen – Cousins – Weal

Wouldn’t that make more sense than trying to fit Armia or Lehkonen into the top six? Neither of them have shown enough consistency offensively to earn a role with Domi and Drouin. Kotkaniemi however, would fit right in on a line with the Habs top scorers.

Without bringing in a player from outside the organization, which the Habs have not done, it makes the most sense to promote the recent third overall pick into a prominent role. We have seen some surprises to open Habs training camp the past few years.

Most notably we saw Drouin playing center two years ago and Domi down the middle last season. Could we see both of them flanking Kotkaniemi this season? It makes a lot of sense and would be the only way to get the Habs six best forwards into the top six.

We will have to wait and see, but it makes a lot of sense to move Domi back to the wing so Kotkaniemi can fulfill his potential as a top six center.