One of the clearest training-camp moves for the Canadiens was putting Chris Kreider on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, while Juraj Slafkovsky slid down to the second line alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
On paper, it gives Montreal a more balanced top six and more depth across the lineup. It also doesn’t have to be permanent; the Canadiens can still shuffle things around as the season goes on if they need to.
What makes this tweak more interesting than a simple one-for-one swap is that Kreider and Slafkovsky bring different looks. Suzuki laid out the contrast pretty plainly.
"I think Kreider does a good job dropping down low, and he's pretty sneaky at making plays. He's kind of known as a goal-scorer, but he's got a lot of nice touches around the net and keeping pucks alive," Suzuki said.
"[Slafkovsky] does a lot of that too but Slaf likes to come in high ice. He likes to make plays so it's a little bit different for me and Cole when we're playing with kind of two guys that play a little bit different but we just have to read off each other make the best reads we can."
That difference matters because the Canadiens already got a good look at what the Suzuki-Caufield-Slafkovsky trio could be. In the second half of last season, that line was productive at 5-on-5, posting an xGF% of 56.15% compared with 46.96% when they were not together, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The playoffs told a different story. That same group dropped to an xGF% of 43.71%, and that downturn may have helped push Montreal toward this new setup. Against the Hurricanes in particular, the Canadiens needed more help keeping the puck low in the zone and winning those battles.
Kreider brings that kind of presence. He can hold onto the puck, and he gives Suzuki and Caufield another body who can do damage around the crease. Suzuki pointed to that part of Kreider’s game as well, noting his ability to make plays and keep pucks alive near the net.
There’s also a hard number backing up the fit: last season, Kreider had 73 individual high-danger chances in 5-on-5 play with the Ducks, which was nine more than any Canadiens player had last season.
That gives Montreal a line with a distributor in Suzuki, a finisher in Caufield, and a net-front threat in Kreider. Whether that chemistry shows up the same way once the games start is the real question. And if it doesn’t, Slafkovsky could always end up back where he was before.
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Canadiens Trade Pursuit Could Reshape Their Center Plan Fast
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Scheifele would not be a short-term patch, either, with a deal that runs through 2030-31 and a recent season that reminded everyone why he remains such an attractive target. Any conversation of this sort naturally turns to what Montreal would have to move the other way, and the names floating around underline the kind of price the Canadiens may need to consider if they want to change their center picture quickly. [Read more 🡒]