Montreal Canadiens: Trying to Fix the Broken Offence
By Joshua Rosa
First Line
Right now, the first line is composed of Mike Hoffman – Nick Suzuki – Brendan Gallagher. This is…interesting.
It does follow the logic of having a goal-scorer, Hoffman, a play-maker/skill player, Suzuki, and a play-driving guy that gets to the dirty areas, Gallagher. It is a good idea in theory. Gallagher draws a lot of defenders to the front of the net, and that gives more room for the skilled Suzuki and Hoffman to work.
Gallagher has been and can continue to be a top line centre in Montreal. Honestly, the more ice time that Gallagher gets, the better. As so many have opined, Gallagher is the ‘straw that stirs the drink’, and he always brings the same high energy and lifts the rest of the team with him.
Hoffman, not so much. Everyone has said that he struggles to drive play and produce offence by himself. He has a really good shot, but depends on others to get him the puck. And he has a lack of enthusiasm in the defensive zone. It isn’t exactly the best when you are putting Hoffman against the top lines of the opposition.
Especially because Nick Suzuki has looked out of his depth. There was a lot of talk about Suzuki’s development this year, and how he has gotten better each year in his NHL career so far. But the difference this year seems to be the departure of Phillip Danault. Danault took all of the hardest match-ups in the past two years, leaving the second and third line match-ups for Suzuki. And it may seem like we have all underestimated how much of an impact that would have on Suzuki’s game.
Suddenly, Suzuki is coming up against Auston Matthews and Patrice Bergeron and Mark Stone. Not to mention that his most common linemates Tyler Toffoli and Cole Caufield are not the greatest defensively either.
Gallagher is a good compliment to Suzuki in my opinion. He has proven to be responsible defensively, and will make space for Suzuki to use his vision and skill. I am not sure about Hoffman. I personally would want someone that is better at creating his own offence.
I think Josh Anderson could be an interesting fit. He hasn’t recorded a goal so far, and 1 assist. He is big, he is fast, and he has an interesting shot. Its not the best in the world, but it can beat goalies clean on occasion. And Suzuki has the vision to get him the puck in good positions.