Eric Engels discusses options for Habs second line on The Sick Podcast

The talk of the Montreal Canadiens last year was their top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky.

That is for good reason, they were involved on a good portion of the teams offense and contributed to the success of the power play. They also took a big step individually and as a unit, which will be huge for the team going forward. But the second line had many different looks due to injury, so the way they line up this season will be huge for the future of the Canadiens offense.

It will be especially important for the trio that starts the year together to stick together to build chemistry. For the Canadiens to start making significant waves in the standings, having a balanced attack will be crucial. The importance of having balance through the two top lines is huge, because it takes pressure off of the top line.

Who makes up the second line?

Aside from Kirby Dach, the second line is relatively unknown, made up mostly of fan prediction combinations. Eric Engels believes that Joshua Roy could be an option and I feel that Alex Newhook's speed would be a great complement to Roy and Dach. Joel Armia, who had some chemistry with Roy, as Engels noted could also be a viable option.

Tony Marinaro, the host of The Sick Podcast also threw Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher's names into the mix. But essentially, the Canadiens have an array of different options, some more highly touted than others, however. If Gallagher and Anderson can slot onto the third line with Christian Dvorak or Jake Evans, the depth isn't looking too bad.

There are so many different options, all of which will be put into play as soon as the Canadiens training camp rolls around. But the best part of the different options is that the internal competition will weed out the top candidates from the rest. This will ensure that the Canadiens' second line is compiled with the best players that the team has available.

With an array of options, it's hard to predict who makes up forwards four, five and six. But it's definitely interesting to hear from Engels, a guy that is so close with the team, thinks could be a legitimate option for the Canadiens.