Canadiens: Kreider boosts top line, but second‑line centre still unresolved

As the season approaches, three La Presse reporters assigned to the Montreal Canadiens beat – Richard Labbé, Guillaume Lefrançois and Simon‑Olivier Lorange – paint a generally upbeat picture of the team while circling one major concern. In their view, the Canadiens should be back in the playoffs, but the unresolved question of who can truly slot in behind Nick Suzuki at centre still hangs over the roster.

Camp details hint at a team entering a new phase

Guillaume Lefrançois points to a highly structured training camp as evidence that the Canadiens see themselves in a different phase of their build. Drills focused on narrow, specific situations rather than broad systems work, which he interprets as a sign the club is fine‑tuning rather than laying foundations. On that basis, he suggests a playoff berth is close to a certainty, while also warning that any playoff run could be shorter than last spring.

Richard Labbé anticipates a chaotic season full of swings and minor dramas, yet one that also ends with postseason hockey in Montreal. Across the panel, there is agreement that the Canadiens are much closer to contending than rebuilding, a reality that, in their minds, justifies bolder moves to address glaring weaknesses.

Kreider fits a need, but not the biggest one

The main summer addition up front, Chris Kreider, is slated to open the year on the top line. Labbé believes the veteran winger can still reach the 20‑goal mark and help on the power play. At the same time, he stresses that Kreider does not fix what he calls the team’s most pressing issue: the lack of a bona fide second‑line centre.

Lefrançois expects head coach Martin St‑Louis to shuffle his forward lines frequently. He sees the Cole Caufield–Nick Suzuki–Juraj Slafkovský trio as a security blanket that St‑Louis will likely return to quickly if the team hits a rough patch. Lorange likes Kreider’s willingness to battle around the blue paint, filling an immediate need, but notes with a touch of irony that if he were truly in high demand, he might still be with the New York Rangers or have landed somewhere other than Montreal.

The Anaheim Ducks, for instance, chose to keep Alex Killorn rather than target Kreider. Lefrançois interprets that more as a player preference for staying in the West than as a rejection. Labbé adds that Montreal also took a run at Anthony Mantha before ultimately turning to Kreider on a one‑year deal.

Pressure building for a bold move at centre

News of an injury to Kasperi Kapanen, learned shortly before their discussion, is seen as another nudge toward experimentation down the middle. Lefrançois believes the Canadiens are edging closer to trying Slafkovský or high‑end prospect Ivan Demidov at centre out of necessity. Lorange also flags the lack of any real Plan B if Suzuki were to get hurt, a vulnerability he finds troubling for a team talking seriously about winning.

Labbé argues that if management truly thinks the window is opening, now is the time to pay the price for a major trade, referencing the type of move that once brought Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues. In what he calls the "new NHL," he contends that no team wins without a strong spine at centre, and that the Canadiens will not magically become contenders with Kapanen, Jake Evans or Alex Newhook anchoring the second line.

Beyond the top trio, all three reporters see secondary scoring as something of a dice roll. The lineup still lacks a prime‑age, heavy‑style winger – the sort of profile they imagine Florian Xhekaj could eventually grow into. Even so, Lefrançois remains reasonably optimistic about the supporting cast, expecting Demidov to impress and believing Newhook, newly acquired Alexandre Texier and William Bolduc can generate offence in stretches, even if the overall structure behind Suzuki is still a work in progress.