The Canadiens have found a wrinkle in their early preseason lineup that could end up solving more than one problem at once.
Montreal is off to a winning start, and while it is only the preseason, the first two games still offered plenty to like. The biggest takeaway was the return of the “Kid Line,” with Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield back together. That trio was the expectation two weeks ago, before Chris Kreider entered the picture and changed the shape of the top six.
Kreider gives Montreal something it lacked when Slafkovsky was on the second line: a bigger, more physical option with real net-front presence. That matters because the Canadiens tried last season to move Slafkovsky away from Suzuki and Caufield, and the line clearly missed him.
At the same time, keeping those three together can make Montreal too easy to read. When the first line dries up, the offence can go quiet fast.
That is where Ivan Demidov comes in.
The rookie showed off his playmaking and stick-handling right away, but he looked especially dangerous when paired with Slafkovsky. Along with Oliver Kapanen, the two formed Montreal’s most reliable offensive line, and that was no small thing while the roster dealt with injuries.
Slafkovsky, in particular, seemed to rediscover a different gear on that unit. Instead of just fitting in beside Suzuki and Caufield, he became the driver.
He looked closer to the player seen in the last two Olympics than the one who spent his first three seasons in Montreal searching for that level.
When Slafkovsky later returned to the first line, his game got a boost. Demidov’s did not.
That late-season stretch was rough for the young winger, and part of that may have simply been the grind of a season longer than anything he had played before. But the personnel around him also shifted.
Once Slafkovsky moved back up, Demidov was left with a revolving door on his opposite side. In the playoffs, it got even tougher when Kapanen was removed from the lineup and Jake Evans - a defence-first centre - slid into the second-line role.
That put more of the offensive burden on Demidov.
Putting Slafkovsky and Demidov back together would change that dynamic immediately. It would give Demidov an elite-level running mate and, in turn, make Kapanen’s job much more manageable.
That leads straight to the bigger question facing Montreal: is the team good enough at second-line centre?
It remains the Canadiens’ biggest need, but the club appears set to open the season with nearly the same group down the middle. That suggests either the asking prices around the league were too steep or Montreal did not see the available options as the right fit. For now, Kapanen looks like the likely second-line centre.
He may be below the league average at that spot, but if he is flanked by Slafkovsky and Demidov, he does not need to carry the offence. Kapanen brings defensive reliability and a high hockey IQ, and he has a knack for finding loose pucks around the net.
What he does not do especially well is drive the attack himself. With those two wingers around him, he would not have to.
That is the appeal of reuniting the “Kid Line” in a different form. Kapanen can stay focused on responsible play, while Slafkovsky and Demidov handle the chance creation.
Ideally, Kapanen would be a strong third-line centre. Montreal does not have that luxury right now, though, and it should not force a move just to make one.
If the right player becomes available and the price makes sense, the Canadiens should look at it. But there is no reason to rush.
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