Montreal Canadiens: Examining the Four Forward Lines
By Joshua Rosa
Line 1: Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Tyler Toffoli
This is the line that has the most potential, that also has the most question marks. It is one of the youngest top lines in the league, with Caufield a rookie of 20 years old, Nick Suzuki having just 3 seasons of NHL experience at 22 years old, and the veteran Tyler Toffoli of 29 years of age.
Toffoli had a career year last year, finishing 7th in the league in goals with 28 in 52 games. Odds are he will not be able to replicate that pace. That is a pace of about 0.54 goals per game. The closest he has come to that number before this year was 2015-16, where he scored 31 goals playing in all 82 games for a goals per game of 0.38.
Generally, you can count on Toffoli scoring between 20 and 30 goals. That is a reasonable amount, but with the loss of the goalscoring of Tatar in the regular season, Toffoli would be looking to continue his career best numbers as a bonafide number 1 winger.
Nick Suzuki will be one to watch this year, especially with the loss of Phillip Danault. Last year, neither Danault nor Suzuki were Montreal’s number 1 centre. Danault is one of, if not the premiere defensive forwards in the entire league, and drew the tougher opponents. Against Toronto and Vegas, Danault played almost exclusively against Auston Matthews and Mark Stone, leaving Suzuki the easier second line duties.
This year, Montreal is needing Suzuki to step up offensively, while also playing against much tougher competition. Suzuki produced 15 goals and 41 points in 56 games, which is an almost point per game pace. It was a similar story in the playoffs, where in 22 games he scored 7 goals and 16 points.
Right now, no one is sure how Suzuki and second line centre Christian Dvorak will be used. Dvorak is a more responsible, more experienced centre who is better in the faceoff than the younger Suzuki. He is not as defensively capable as Danault, but he might take some of the heat of Suzuki.
Cole Caufield will be in the same boat as Suzuki. He only has 10 regular season NHL games under his belt, but he did score 4 goals in those games, and looked fantastic at points in the playoffs. But once again, Caufield will be playing against the best players in the world, and will have to step up his game to just match his offensive output.
If Montreal is going to be successful this year, this line is going to have to at least match its output offensively, while playing smart, defensive hockey against the league’s elite. It will be a tough order, but if there are any players that could pull it off on the Habs, its Suzuki and Caufield.