The Montreal Canadiens can choose to add younger prospects or older veterans to the team, and given their need for more skill, it shouldn’t be a hard decision.
Training camp opened Thursday afternoon with the Montreal Canadiens gathering for their pictures. However, now that camp has transitioned to actual play, the debates on who should make the team will continue until the final roster is decided on ahead of the season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
There are two ways Claude Julien and the Habs staff can take this year’s roster. They could either circle back with a similar lineup and fill out the rest of the holes with veteran depth, or change things up a bit and add young skill to the roster. At this point, both are still plausible.
The Montreal Canadiens chose to re-sign Nate Thompson and Jordan Weal while also bringing Nick Cousins in on a one-year deal. If the Habs were to keep the exact same lineup, you could say that right there is your fourth line to start the 2019-20 season. It wouldn’t be the flashiest third line, but it would be one Julien would have a lot of time for.
Players who can play reliable minutes e who can be fast if need be and use that speed to spend more time in the offensive end.
On the other hand, the Montreal Canadiens could choose to mix things up a little bit. It starts with Ryan Poehling, who is the frontrunner as far as prospects go to make the team out of camp. However, if Poehling is to make the team, playing him on the fourth line is a waste and won’t do much for his development as an NHL player.
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If that’s the case, the only way Poehling should make this year’s squad is in a third line-role playing with the likes of Paul Byron, Artturi Lehkonon, or Joel Armia. That will require Jesperi Kotkaniemi to get bumped up, and possibly Max Domi getting moved over to the wing. Do the Habs want to do that?
The same thing goes for Nick Suzuki. There is a hole in the top-six after Andrew Shaw was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Byron is the easy solution there as he’s played in the upper portions of the lineup before, but it could be an opportunity for the team to get younger and more skilled. Again, do the Habs want to do that?
The “easier” option would be for Poehling and Suzuki to get sent to the Laval Rocket and dominate on the first line as well as furthering the chemistry they’ve worked on at the Rookie Tournament. That doesn’t make the Montreal Canadiens a better team though. You could argue the fourth line is a step up of Kenny Agostino, Michael Chaput, and Nicolas Deslauriers, but that doesn’t and shouldn’t move the needle.
The Montreal Canadiens need to keep things fresh and new and can’t only rely on the growth of Kotkaniemi, the hopeful bounce-back of Jonathan Drouin, and the hopeful continuation of Domi’s production. Trades are iffy and tough to rely on as well given the other party involved. What if the other team wants a top prospect involved in the deal and the Habs don’t believe they are in a position to take from the upper portion of their pipeline?
These decisions make all the difference, and if Poehling and Suzuki are ready to make the jump, the Habs need to bring them on board. Keep in mind, there’s always the 10-game window to keep in mind. That’s not going to matter too much for Poehling as he’s already burned a year off his entry-level contract but something that may come into play for Suzuki.