Montreal Canadiens Rolling Dice On Young Centres In “Go-For-It” Season
Montreal Canadiens centres Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi will play big roles on the 2020-21 Habs roster.
The Montreal Canadiens had little to no depth at centre and very few great prospects at the position for the past two decades.
Even just over a year ago as we watched the beginning of the 2019-20 season, it didn’t look like a very deep position.
Habs fans were mildly excited for the centre depth as last season began, but a lot of things had to go right.
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We knew what to expect from Phillip Danault but were hoping for a little more offence since he was playing with Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher. We hoped Max Domi would repeat his 72 point season but were also aware he lacked the defensive awareness to be a solid two-way centre. We hoped Jesperi Kotkaniemi would build on a decent rookie season and we weren’t sure if Nick Suzuki was ready for full-time NHL duty.
Fast forward to today, and general manager Marc Bergevin is rolling the dice on a number of youngsters at the position. In fact, he is showing incredible faith in Kotkaniemi and Suzuki since he upgraded every position on the roster in the offseason except for centre.
Bergevin added Jake Allen to strengthen the team’s goaltending tandem. He acquired Joel Edmundson and brought Alexander Romanov over from Russia to bolster the team’s defence. He signed Tyler Toffoli and traded for Josh Anderson to add some top nine options on the wing.
But centre? He shipped out Max Domi to clear the path for Suzuki, Danault, Kotkaniemi and Jake Evans to be the four players down the middle.
In what looks like a season where Bergevin hopes to compete, that is an abundance of confidence in his young centres.
Suzuki looked great last season as he just got better and better as time went on. When the Habs returned for the postseason, Suzuki was excellent and took over first line duties on a line with Tatar and Gallagher. He tied for the team lead in goals with four and points with seven in the Canadiens ten postseason contests. He was given a difficult assignment against the Pittsburgh Penguins but played sound two-way hockey when facing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin head-to-head.
Kotkaniemi looked much more poised and confident in the postseason as well. His regular season went poorly as the 19 year old scored just six goals and eight points in 36 games. He would tie with Suzuki for the team lead in goals in the postseason. A demotion to the Laval Rocket seemed to help the third overall pick find his confidence. Now, with more talent on the wings, Kotkaniemi should have the most offensive wingers he has had thus far in his career.
Danault will continue to play his two-way game and will likely find himself playing with Tatar and Gallagher again. They will take on the toughest minutes every night and come out way ahead in the possession game while scoring their fair share of goals.
Jake Evans looks like the fourth line centre after being promoted late last season. He played 13 games after the trade deadline and was looking more comfortable as he gained some experience. He plays a smart, defensive game but led the Laval Rocket in scoring last season.
The Canadiens have two veteran goaltenders, a plethora of experienced defencemen and a long list of wingers who have been around for a few years.
But, as they gear up for a 2020-21 season in which they wish to compete, it will be up to 20 year old Kotkaniemi, 21 year old Suzuki, 24 year old Evans and 27 year old Danault to carry the load down the middle.
With Domi traded, there is no margin for error for these centres. We know Danault will do his job and Evans can handle the fourth line job, but this suddenly deep Canadiens team needs Suzuki and Kotkaniemi to be even better than they were in the postseason.
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Bergevin has put together the best looking Habs roster we have seen in years. But these two young centres hold the keys to whether this team is a true contender next season or just another cap team that is battling for a wildcard spot.