Zachary Bolduc’s first season in Montreal was a mixed bag, but the Canadiens may not be done with him on the top line just yet.
Bolduc arrived as one of the club’s headline offseason pickups, coming from the St. Louis Blues in the Logan Mailloux deal, and he opened the year looking like a steal.
He scored in each of the Canadiens’ first three games, which made the trade look lopsided in Montreal’s favor early on. But the scoring dried up fast after that, and the rest of the season never really matched that start.
That slump got ugly. Bolduc went 13 games without a goal from the end of October to the end of November, then hit an even longer stretch after scoring against the Boston Bruins on December 23rd.
He didn’t score again until March 26th against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a drought that lasted 31 games. During that span, he was a healthy scratch a couple of times, and by season’s end he had only 12 goals, seven fewer than he managed as a rookie with the Blues.
That’s the disappointing part of the story. The encouraging part is what came later.
Bolduc’s playoff work gave Montreal something to think about. His production didn’t suddenly explode, but his play sharpened, and he was part of the Canadiens’ most effective line in the opening-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That matters, because the Canadiens are still trying to sort out the right mix up front, especially after injuries forced them to reshuffle their lines during the season.
When Juraj Slafkovsky was moved to the second line with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, that group got a real boost. At the same time, the top line struggled to replace him until Bolduc got a look there.
He didn’t lock the job down, and Alexandre Texier eventually took over and clicked quickly with his linemates. Later, after the Olympic break, Martin St.
Louis and his staff put Slafkovsky back with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and that move helped wake up the Canadiens’ best line again.
That first line is dangerous, no question. But it also creates a problem.
With Slafkovsky back there, Montreal’s depth scoring took a hit, and Kapanen and Demidov saw their production dip. The Canadiens need more than one line they can trust for offense, and Bolduc still has a case to make there.
He brings size, physicality, puck-battle ability, and a sharp release. The issue is putting all of it together more consistently.
The Canadiens have been linked to Kirill Marchenko all offseason, but if that doesn’t turn into a trade, Bolduc deserves another shot to see whether he can help give Montreal a better balance throughout the lineup. The talent is there.
Now he has to show it more often.
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