Do The Canadiens Have A Good Enough Second Line? – Pro Hockey Rumors
The Montreal Canadiens are hoping to move from young up-and-comers to Stanley Cup contenders. Some folks might argue that their Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season proves they are already Stanley Cup contenders, but their performance in that series against the Carolina Hurricanes showed just how far away they still are.
The Canadiens had a quiet offseason and still haven’t fixed their biggest issues: the hole at 2C and the effect that hole has on the second line. The current projection on Daily Faceoff has Alex Newhook, Jake Evans, and Ivan Demidov slotted on that second unit, but that group lacks the offensive punch to be a second line on a Stanley Cup-contending team, and it’s fair to wonder whether Montreal should be desperate for a move or can do some shuffling of the deck chairs within the forward group.
Montreal’s first line is absolutely good enough to be a top line with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky. That group will undoubtedly take the toughest matchups and shoulder a huge chunk of the offensive responsibility, but the second unit needs to produce consistent secondary scoring to take pressure off the Suzuki line, give the Canadiens two legitimate offensive threats, and prevent teams from loading up against the top line.
Last season, Oliver Kapanen fared well as the second-line center, topping 20 goals and showing flashes of being the solution. But in the playoffs, he fell out of the lineup, either running out of gas or struggling to adjust to the tempo change from the regular season. The Canadiens have other internal options, including Evans and even Newhook, but the best internal move might be dropping Slafkovsky from the top line and replacing him with someone far less talented, such as Zachary Bolduc or Alexandre Texier. That would give Kapanen two very gifted wingers and could allow for two effective top lines, even if it does slow down the first line somewhat.
The biggest potential development in that framework would be Demidov, because if he takes a big step this season, it would offset the top line slowing down and give Montreal a more effective top six overall compared to last year. Demidov is a game-breaking type of player, and it is on the Canadiens to give him the best chance overall to be that guy. He won’t have as good a chance to do that if he’s playing with the likes of Evans and Newhook, but with Slafkovsky and Kapanen, the odds are better. But if Demidov has a slump or struggles this season, that would create a massive problem for the Habs’ depth, no matter who he is playing with. That is an interesting potential wrinkle, and it’s one the Canadiens could have been better prepared for had they acquired a top six center this summer.
The lack of a true second-line center is the elephant in the room in Montreal this year, but Evans, Newhook and Kapanen all represent potential stopgaps who could fill in until the Canadiens are able to find a more permanent candidate for the role. Evans is a nice complementary piece who has been a good pro for a while. He is a solid penalty killer, decent on faceoffs, and has a high hockey IQ. He is the type of player teams value for his versatility, but no one in the NHL believes he is a 2C on a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. However, a 10- or 20-game stretch could be doable.
The same could be said for Newhook, who has more of a motor and better offensive touch than Evans. Newhook has some top-six experience, and his transition ability would be a good fit alongside Demidov and Slafkovsky. Newhook played with Demidov quite a bit last season, but he was used primarily on the wing, and his overall possession numbers were nothing to write home about. Newhook is a nice complementary piece at this stage of his career, and much like Evans, he isn’t fit to center a top six unit over the course of an entire season.
Kapanen is Montreal’s third option at center, and he has the most upside. His 22 goals last season were no fluke, but his healthy scratches in the playoffs showed he just isn’t ready to be the guy yet. There may come a day when Kapanen is it, and perhaps he should have the chance to show he can be, but Montreal needs to be ready for him not to work out, because it’s quite likely he won’t.
That’s not to say Montreal should panic. They don’t need to yet. They have options and time on their side, and they could look to Evans, Newhook and Kapanen first to see if anyone is ready. Meanwhile, Kent Hughes and company can continue to look around the league for a potential fit that doesn’t require them to sell the farm. But realistically, they have until the NHL Trade Deadline to figure this out, because once they reach the playoffs, it’s hard to pick a team in their division with a weaker second line than the Canadiens have right now.
The Canadiens’ second line is probably good enough to get the team to the playoffs, but that is a baseline expectation in Montreal right now, and the team is hoping to become a serious Cup contender this year. They’ll need a tougher second line to be that team.
