The Montreal Canadiens’ center depth still leaves them chasing the teams at the top of the league, and that showed up again in The Athletic’s latest ranking of top-six center duos.
Harman Dayal put the Canadiens 14th overall, a placement that reflects both the promise and the uncertainty in the middle of the ice. Nick Suzuki gets the praise he deserves - Dayal calls him one of the best centers on the planet - but the second-half of the equation has been a revolving door for Kent Hughes.
Hughes has taken several swings at solving the second-line center spot. Kirby Dach was supposed to help, but he wound up looking more like a winger.
Sean Monahan came next, but injuries kept interrupting his run. Alex Newhook followed the year after and also ended up fitting better on the wing.
Last season, the job fell to Oliver Kapanen almost by default.
Kapanen made the most of the opportunity during the regular season. The Finnish pivot had a strong rookie year skating with Russian standout Ivan Demidov on the second line, finishing with 22 goals and 15 assists for 37 points. That total could have climbed even higher if the then-22-year-old hadn’t run into the rookie wall that tends to hit in the back half of the season.
The playoffs told a different story. Kapanen was eventually made a healthy scratch, and Jake Evans stepped into the role.
Evans, a dependable defensive center, posted 10 points in 19 playoff games - a solid return for someone not usually expected to handle second-line duty. In time, he’s more likely to settle into the fourth line than the third, which is where Kapanen is expected to land eventually.
Even with that, the bigger question remains whether the Canadiens have a true second-line center with enough offensive punch. Hughes said last season that he had no doubt Kapanen could be a second-line center in the NHL, but the ideal answer would still be someone with more scoring upside.
Dayal’s ranking also points to how wide the gap is at the top of the league. The Edmonton Oilers sit alone in Tier 1, labeled “Generational,” with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way. The Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers round out the top three and are the only teams in the “Elite” tier.
There are other interesting names in the mix, too. The St.
Louis Blues checked in at 17th with Robert Thomas as their first-line center and recently acquired Mason McTavish as the second-line option. Thomas had been mentioned in trade rumors not long ago, and McTavish was one of the players many believed the Canadiens might target to fill their own second-center hole.
Dayal sees Thomas as a top-15 center, but he still has concerns about McTavish, pointing to some of the worst defensive metrics in the league and poor skating.
For Montreal, the real test may come a year from now. Kapanen will have two full NHL seasons under his belt by then, and Michael Hage is expected to join the Canadiens once his NCAA season ends. That could give the club a better read on whether the answer in the middle is already in the system.
In Other News...
Canadiens Fans Face Another Frustrating Change To Watching Their Team
Canadiens fans are staring at another shift in how they will watch their team, with the NHL and Gary Bettman confirming a 12-year broadcast agreement with Rogers Communications that deepens the leagues long-term move toward streaming in Canada. The new setup will bring English and French coverage into the mix, a reminder that the viewing experience for Quebec audiences is once again changing along with the leagues media landscape.
The biggest immediate wrinkle for Montreal supporters is the timing: Wednesday night NHL games in Canada are set to move to Prime Video beginning in the 2026-27 season. For the Canadiens, that means seven games will be part of the package, adding another layer of adjustment for fans who have already seen the way they follow the team evolve in recent years. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Showed Exactly What They Value In This Rebuild
Mike Mathesons new five-year extension says plenty about what the Canadiens are trying to build, and what they expect from the veterans helping steer the rebuild. Montreal has leaned on Matheson as more than a puck-moving defenseman, using him in a variety of jobs as the roster around him has changed, and the organization clearly values that kind of adaptability as much as any highlight-reel offense.
He has gone from top power-play quarterback to a second-unit role and then into penalty-kill duty, all while remaining a steady presence for a team still sorting out its long-term blue line. Kent Hughes has made it clear he sees Matheson as the kind of player who puts team success ahead of individual numbers, and the extension gives Montreal a reliable piece whose value could shift again if the lineup changes around Lane Hutson or Noah Dobson. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Wont All Agree On This Kirby Dach Trade Twist
Kirby Dachs name is back in the rumor mill, and for Canadiens fans that alone is enough to split opinion. Reports have linked Montreal to trade discussions involving the young center, with the idea that his inclusion could help the club reshape its forward group as it looks for a different kind of fit in the lineup.
The twist is less about whether Montreal is listening and more about what Dach represents in those talks. His injuries, uneven play and uncertain availability have all fed into a murky valuation, and any move would almost certainly need more than just one player going the other way. The Canadiens would likely have to add more to the package, and for now the whole thing remains speculative, which is why the debate around Dach feels so much bigger than a simple trade rumor. [Read more 🡒]