The Montreal Canadiens have not been able to add to their Top 6 yet this offseason, and with training camp right around the corner, head coach Martin St. Louis might need to get creative about how to improve this group. That might mean having to move Juraj Slafkovsky off the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
This move doesn't mean that Slafkovsky was a problem on the top line, but in fact, it was because they needed to bring balance to their top two lines. By moving Slafkovsky down to a line with Ivan Demidov, it starts to achieve that and, in turn, puts pressure on the opposing team.
Last season, Slafkovsky had a breakout season with 30 goals and 43 assists and both were career-highs. The same for Demidov, with 19 goals and 43 assists in his first full season in the NHL.
Montreal Canadiens need to answer two questions if they go this route
If the Canadiens want to split up their three best players on the top lines, it creates two big questions for them. The first is: who replaces Slafkovsky on the top line with Suzuki and Caufield?
They will certainly have some options with Zachary Bolduc (once he signs a new contract) or Alexander Texier, and both players had over 150 minutes of ice time with Suzuki and Caufield, according to Moneypuck. What is interesting is that both lines had better xGoals % than the line with Slafkovsky.
After that, the Canadiens would need to figure out who can play center on a line with Slafkovsky and Demidov. The obvious answer, and why a move like this might be appealing, is Oliver Kapanen.
Kapanen fell out of the lineup during the playoffs but had spent most of the regular season as the second-line center. He was productive and had 20 goals, but was clearly most productive with Slafkovsky and Demidov on either side of him.
Last season, this line combination had the second-most minutes of any forward line and had an x Goals % of 47.9%, which was less than seven percentage points behind the Slafkovsky, Suzuki, and Caufield line.
Even in this scenario, the Canadiens have options at center and could look to Alex Newhook or Jake Evans if Kapanen continues to struggle during training camp and preseason.
It is not always best practice to break up a team's best line, and if they keep them together, it is an elite top line. However, the Canadiens don't have the depth to consolidate their best players on one line and it might require bringing more balance to those lines by moving Slafkovsky to the second line.
The Canadiens have an interesting dilemma and preseason will be a perfect time to try out some of these line combinations to see what they look like.
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