Can The Habs Continue With Oliver Kapanen As 2nd Line Centre?

For the majority of the 2025-26 season, rookie forward Oliver Kapanen was the Montreal Canadiens’ 2nd-line centre alongside fellow rookie Ivan Demidov on his wing. Despite major struggles towards the end of the year, Kapanen had a very solid but underrated first full season with the Habs, as his 22 goals ranked him 3rd among all rookies, while his 37 points were tied for 6th for 1st-year players in the league. He may not be a typical 2nd line centre, but thanks to his chemistry with Demidov, who can be a play driver along the wing, Kapanen has previously shown that he could be a placeholder for the time being while the Habs find that 2nd line centre. Now, there is still a chance that the Habs won’t be able to get that centre this summer, which begs the question of whether or not Kapanen could be the filler to start next season once again.

Are #GoHabsGo fans dismissing Oliver Kapanen too quickly?#thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro @gourmet_hockey pic.twitter.com/CNL0rIIuXb

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) June 19, 2026

On Thursday night’s episode of the Sick Podcast, Canadiens TSN colour commentator Jon Goyens and Tony Marinaro discussed the possibility of Kapanen being a 2nd line centre for the Habs for more than just a temporary solution. According to Goyens, fans tend to dismiss just how strong of a rookie season that Kapanen had because of just how much he struggled in the post-season. He has a point given that the player he tied in goals, Jimmy Snuggerud, is said to have had an amazing year.

In reality, he was able to be one of the top rookie goal scorers in the league, even having more goals than Demidov. Yes, Demidov is a playmaker rather than a goal scorer who finished with 19 goals and 43 assists on the year, which may explain why Kapanen was able to outscore him, but that shouldn’t take anything away from that solid season. Kapanen has the ability to play up in the lineup if need be, similarly to an Artturi Lehkonen; in fact, he did better than his fellow countryman in their respective rookie seasons. During Lehkonen’s first year in the NHL, he scored 18 goals and 28 points in 73 games.

Oliver Kapanen is BY FAR the most underrated #Habs player this season.

With 22 goals, he’s one off the pace for rookie goals’ scored in the #NHL.

Case in point, he scored the game winner in the shootout last night but fans focus on Suzuki not scoring instead. #GoHabsGo

— GrumpaDotCA (@GrumpaDotCA) April 5, 2026

There is the argument that Kapanen getting to play with elite talents like Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky (for about 2 months) would definitely help the Finnish forward’s numbers, but at the same time, he showed that he can keep up with them and produce, which is why he deserves some credit for the amount of goals he put up this past season. However, it also shows that he can be a solid fit to play alongside a skilled forward like Demidov if need be. Sure, Demidov set up the huge majority of Kapanen’s goals, but he would also get in the right spots on the ice to always receive those passes from the Russian star. It seems like they complemented each other really well, and if the Habs need to go back to it to start the 2026-27 campaign, it won’t be the worst thing that could happen.

Goyens took it a step further, stating the Habs could win a Stanley Cup with Kapanen as their 2nd line centre, despite him being better suited for a 3rd line role. The reason for that is because if the Habs insulate him around the right players such as Demidov and another bona fide top 6 winger, the team could be fine with him as the glue guy that completes his line, similarly to the way he was with Demidov and Slafkovsky/Alex Newhook for the majority of the year.

Oliver Kapanen scored his first NHL goal on October 8, during the Montreal Canadiens’ season-opening game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was just the beginning of an impressive rookie year where he would score 22 goals and 37 points.
What’s his ceiling? #gohabsgo pic.twitter.com/OUSK3xIjP0

— Habs Fan Dit (@HABSFANDIT) June 10, 2026

Next season if he’s still a Hab and not traded in a deal for a 2nd line centre, he should be able to rebound from his disappointing final month of the season and the playoffs, as he will be fresh again. If the Habs do end up getting an upgrade at centre, there is a good chance that he’s included in a package. Kapanen is a young player that showed potential during his rookie season so it wouldn’t be a surprise.

One clear issue for Kapanen this year was that he never played more than 65 total games in a single year until getting to the NHL, not to mention the 82 games that he played came in a reduced amount of time due to the Winter Olympics, of which he was there representing Finland despite only playing the bronze medal game vs. Slovakia. While you could say he got rest by not playing in the games, he still needed to practice with Team Finland and wasn’t able to get the same rest as his teammates that didn’t make their Olympic squad.

Essentially what this means is for the first time in his career he never had a break from September to April, as he played all 82 games and was in the Habs lineup for the first four games of their postseason run. As a rookie, he still hadn’t adjusted to the physical toll of playoff hockey, even though he had played three playoff games during the 2025 postseason. Add to his fatigue from playing more games than he has ever played before, and it makes some sense why he looked as bad as he did in the playoffs. With experience he should improve and be ready to play an 84-game season going forward.

Kent Hughes seemed convinced that Oliver Kapanen could be the solution as the 2nd line center. Are you?

Pierre McGuire: “I think he’s probably better suited to be an elite 3”#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/VYTUCaoDOZ

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) January 7, 2026

Still, while Kapanen can clearly be a good option as a placeholder given his chemistry with Demidov, the ideal situation is that they get an upgrade. However, it’s very possible that the prices are too high or the Habs strike out on filling that need. At the very least, the Habs have someone who could fill in and be a solid 2-way centre who has chemistry with Demidov. In that case, it will also mean that the Habs need to get another scoring winger to play with them to help the line produce more. Nonetheless, Kapanen definitely isn’t the worse player to be a 2nd line centre.

How disappointed would you be if the Habs go into next year with Kapanen as the 2nd line centre?