The Montreal Canadiens' top-six centers "duo" ranks 14th in the league, according to The Athletic's ranking.
The Athletic’s Harman Dayal has ranked every top-six center duos in the league from best to worst, and unsurprisingly, the Montreal Canadiens didn’t land very high. Kent Hughes has tried multiple times to fix the gaping hole that is the Canadiens’ second-line center role; he acquired Kirby Dach, who turned out to be more of a winger. He picked up Sean Monahan, whose tenure was punctuated by injuries. The following year, he acquired Alex Newhook, who also turned out to be more of a winger, and this past year, the role fell to Oliver Kapanen, almost by default.
The Finnish pivot had a very good rookie season, riding alongside Russian ace Ivan Demidov on the second line. Kapanen scored 22 goals and added 15 assists for 37 points, a total which would have been even greater if the then-22-year-old didn’t hit the proverbial wall so many rookies fall victim to in the second half of the season. In the playoffs, Kapanen even ended up being a healthy scratch, and Jake Evans, who’s a very responsible defensive center, stepped into the role.
In 19 playoff games, Evans ended up with 10 points, a very respectable total, especially for a player who’s not typically expected to play on the second line and who, in time, should land on the Canadiens’ fourth line rather than the third, where Kapanen should eventually slot in. While GM Kent Hughes said last season that he had no doubt Kapanen could be a second-line center in the NHL when asked about the young Finn, in an ideal world, the Habs' second-line center would be a player with more offensive potential.
Taking that into account, it’s hardly surprising that Dayal’s article ranks the Canadiens’ center duo (well, trio) since the grade was given to the Nick Suzkui-Kapanen/Evans in 14th place, in the fifth tier of the rankings, which was dubbed “Middle of the pack (Star no. 1 center but with a below-average 2C)”.
The writer praises Suzuki, whom he calls one of the best centers on the planet, but then goes on to explain that Kapanen spent most of the season fulfilling second-line duties before being passed over by Evans in the playoffs. He then concludes by adding that time will tell whether top prospect Michael Hage will be able to fill that gap in the Canadiens’ lineup.
It’s interesting to note that the St. Louis Blues land in 17th place with Robert Thomas as their first-line center and recently acquired Mason McTavish as their second-line center. Thomas was rumored to be on the trade market not so long ago, and McTavish was one of the players many pundits believed the Canadiens could acquire to fill their second-center need. Dayal sees Thomas as a top-15 center in the league but believes that McTavish still has a lot to prove, noting that he has some of the worst defensive metrics in the league and is a very poor skater.
The Edmonton Oilers top the rankings, being alone in Tier 1, which is identified as “Generational,” as it should be since it features Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers wrap up the top three and are the only two teams in the “Elite” tier.
It will be interesting to see how the Canadiens fare in this ranking a year from now, with Kapanen having two full years of NHL action and Hage presumably joining the Habs once his NCAA season wraps up.
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