The Montreal Canadiens have a lot of time to figure out what their opening night roster is going to look like. One thing is for sure, the forwards will be a veteran-laden group.
There is nothing wrong with that, but when you start trying to pencil together possible line combinations for the 2022-23 Canadiens, one problem immediately does jump out. There are just too many NHL centres on the team right now.
I mean, there are other problems that jump out, like their defence as a whole. Why do they have so many overpaid wingers? With the same two goaltenders, are they going to have a team save percentage of 0.888 again?
Those are pretty big questions, and the reasons the team is likely not going to contend for much more than a priority spot in the draft lottery once again. Carey Price was a potential magic elixir for an awful team from last season, but it sounds like he will be out long-term once again and will be on injured reserve to begin the season.
The fact Price is ticketed for LTIR allowed the team to add a future 1st round draft pick from the Calgary Flames for taking on the final year of Sean Monahan’s contract. Bringing in Monahan with a first rounder for nothing at all in exchange was a no-brainer but it does bring up one question.
Who is the odd man out at centre?
Nick Suzuki is the team’s number one centre and no one will be moving him from that role anytime soon. The Canadiens also have Christian Dvorak, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans and now Monahan down the middle. All five can’t play their natural position of centre at the same time.
Now, it is not impossible to move a centre to the wing, but who will it be? Of the five, Evans seems most likely to take on a shutdown role, so it doesn’t seem likely he will move. Dvorak played really well late in the season, leading the team in scoring in the final quarter with 17 points in 20 games after returning from injury.
So, will it be Dach or Monahan? Which newcomer will be shifted out of their natural position to start the season?
One interesting option would be to move Dach to right wing on the first line with Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Dach is big, skilled, creative with the puck, and a recent third overall pick for a reason. Putting the 21 year old in a position to succeed long term makes sense and there are no better spots to succeed in this lineup than on a line with Suzuki and Caufield.
Dach has a lot of great tools, but winning faceoffs isn’t one of them. The 21 year old won just 32.8% of the 545 faceoffs he took last season. That is the worst percentage of anyone who regularly played centre in the NHL last season.
The Canadiens likely see him as a centre long-term, but a 6’4″ winger isn’t a bad fit on a line with Suzuki and Caufield either. With Monahan only signed for one more season, and possibly traded before the trade deadline, Dach could move back to the middle late in the season once Monahan is dealt.
With Monahan likely here for a short time, it doesn’t make sense to trade Dvorak or Evans to make room down the middle for the former Flame.
Monahan himself is another option to move to the wing, but he will have the most trade value if he stays at centre and rediscovers some of his goal scoring touch. Starting him at centre and moving Dach to the wing would make the most sense right now.
Dach could have a long career at centre ahead of him, and could continue to work on faceoffs throughout the season at practice without actually playing centre in games.
After the trade deadline, the Canadiens could go with Suzuki, Dvorak, Dach and Evans at centre. It will be interesting to see what they do to begin the season, but moving Dach to the wing and giving him every chance to start the season well and gain confidence on a line with the Habs two best offensive players is an intriguing possibility.
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!