Now that the Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Alex Texier to a two-year contract extension, it’s a good time to project how the forward lines may look once the infirmary empties.
Of course, injuries are par for the course in the NHL, and there’s a decent chance the Canadiens will never have a perfectly healthy lineup, but for the sake of discussion we’re going to ignore reality for a moment and focus on ideal circumstances.
As it stands, these are the current forward combinations:
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Texier
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Zachary Bolduc -Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson
Samuel Blais – Joe Veleno – Brendan Gallagher
There were five forwards watching Tuesday’s game from the press box: Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Alex Newhook, and Owen Beck.
The latter was a healthy scratch, while the veterans are still recovering from injuries.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Forward Lines
It stands to reason the Habs are in no hurry to break up their top six, which means the majority of the returning players would have to be slotted into a bottom-six role. With that in mind, we’re going to proceed under the assumption that the first and second lines will remain intact.
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Texier
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
As for the third and fourth lines, the options are abundant, with some important decisions to be made in regard to the designated centres. Seeing as both Dach and Newhook have struggled at the faceoff dot, and their underlying numbers have been far from dominant at 5v5, playing on a line with Phillip Danault could do wonders for the oft-injured forwards. It would also likely yield more offensive production from Danault.
You could suggest Anderson deserves to maintain his role on the third line, and based purely on his production, and there’s certainly an argument to be made, though I would counter by saying he would be better suited for a fourth-line role compared to either Dach or Newhook, due to his truculent style of play.
Jake Evans will likely resume his role as the team’s fourth-line centre, which leaves just two available spots between Owen Beck, Samuel Blais, Patrik Laine, Brendan Gallagher, and Joe Veleno.
Assuming Beck is returned to the AHL to play important minutes with the Laval Rocket, we would potentially see a fourth line featuring Evans, Bolduc, and Anderson. This would entail sitting Laine and Gallagher, while leaving Veleno and Blais in limbo due to their waiver eligibility.
In that situation, the bottom-six would look something like this:
Alex Newhook -Phillip Danault – Kirby Dach
Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans -Josh Anderson
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
From a meritocracy standpoint, Samuel Blais deserves to stay in the NHL, but we can’t forget that Martin St-Louis has to balance merit and veteran status. Sitting a player with a bevy of experience rarely leads to a healthy locker room.
The good news is that we don’t have to worry about the waiver wire, at least for now, but in the event that the Canadiens do want to send Blais to the Laval Rocket, there’s a very good chance he ends up being claimed by the laundry-list of NHL teams looking to add energy to their lineup.
Regardless, the most important factor in play is that the injured players won’t necessarily move the needle in the top six, but they do have the potential to add much-needed depth and talent to the bottom-six.
Potential Montreal Canadiens Forward Lineup When Healthy
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Texier
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Alex Newhook -Phillip Danault – Kirby Dach
Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans -Josh Anderson
Extras: Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine
To Laval: Owen Beck, Samuel Blais*, Joe Veleno*.
Alternate Forward Lines
In the event the Canadiens want to keep Blais in the NHL, the lines could end up looking slightly different. In this scenario, Dach has been promoted to the first line.
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Kirby Dach
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Alex Newhook -Phillip Danault – Alex Texier
Samuel Blais – Jake Evans -Josh Anderson
Extras: Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine
To Laval: Owen Beck, Zachary Bolduc, Joe Veleno*
