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Montreal Canadiens: The Many Candidates to Form an Elite Line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield

By Ken MacMillan

May 27, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 3, 2021; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Josh Anderson Jonathan Drouin Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2021; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Josh Anderson Jonathan Drouin Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

The Internal Options

This line was originally completed by Tyler Toffoli and the trio carried the team offensively all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season. With Toffoli now gearing up for another potentially lengthy postseason run with the Calgary Flames, auditions have been open for some time.

Josh Anderson

Josh Anderson has looked great on this line at times, but he doesn’t seem to have the offensive consistency or creativity to fit perfectly with Suzuki and Caufield. Anderson has all the tools to be a great player as his combination of size, speed and skill is unique in the NHL but does he have the offensive acumen to score 80 points like Suzuki and Caufield? Or is he a better fit as a complementary scorer on a second or third line? Probably the latter.

Jonathan Drouin

Looking at pure left wingers currently in the organization and there isn’t a lot of options. Caufield has been playing the left side with Anderson on the right, but ideally Caufield would be on his natural right wing and the third member of this trio would be a left winger. Jonathan Drouin is the team’s best offensive left winger at the moment, but he has missed so much time with injury it is unlikely he would fill this role full time.

Joshua Roy

Not currently on the roster, but a star in the making is Joshua Roy. He has 43 goals and 106 points in the QMJHL as an 18 year old and is second in league scoring. Roy was an absolute steal as a 5th round pick in last year’s NHL Draft and looks to be a point producing machine for the Habs in the future. But he’s just 18 years old and is likely not ready to do it next season. He should be allowed to play one more year of Junior, completely dominate again, represent his country at the World Juniors, get traded to a contender at the QMJHL trade deadline and go on another long playoff run. Then turn pro and fight for a spot on the top line in 2023-24.

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