Montreal Canadiens May Finally Have Found Their Second-Line Center

We all know that Kent Hughes worked hard during the offseason to acquire a second centerman to support Nick Suzuki.

Because the trade market was rather difficult for getting a center, the organization is taking a gamble by going with the Swedish forward to pivot the second unit alongside Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov.

However, this decision leaves a somewhat bitter taste for Canadiens fans, because as reported by Max Truman of DansLesCoulisses, Oliver Kapanen is not exactly Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux!

Here's what he said:

Even though Kapanen had a good camp with the Canadiens, the fact remains that few experts expected him to be second only to Nick Suzuki in the team's center hierarchy.

As you can tell, he's off to a strong start already!

You could even go as far as saying this shows a lack of confidence from the organization in Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach, who were specifically acquired by Kent Hughes to address weaknesses at the center position.

The two young talents from the 2019 draft have not managed to deliver what was expected of them when the Canadiens' GM brought them in through trades in 2022 and 2023.

Still, Kapanen must be given the chance to play on the second line, and if he happens to find chemistry with Demidov and Newhook, it would be a huge boost for the entire organization. And early signs suggest things are trending in the right direction.