Major mistake by the Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton duo
The arrival of Kirby Dach at the Montreal Canadiens had raised a lot of hopes for him at the second center position.
Some even spoke of him as the future number 1 center with the Habs.
But more than two years after his acquisition, Dach finally seems better suited to a winger role, leaving the Habs fans perplexed as to the staff's strategy.
Host Jean-Charles Lajoie does not hesitate to criticize this situation, even regretting the choice of Juraj Slafkovsky in 2022 and stating that Logan Cooley would have been a wiser option.
For Lajoie, the Canadiens could have benefited more from Cooley, who currently excels as a center and accumulates points comparable to those of Slafkovsky.
Cooley has 55 points in 97 games (0.57 points per game) and Slafkovsky has 68 points in 133 games (0.51 points per game) in the NHL.
This thinking calls into question the decisions of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, who also acquired Dach in order to strengthen the Canadiens' center line.
But with Dach and even Newhook struggling to live up to expectations, Slafkovsky's choice is increasingly being debated.
In this context, the idea of placing Slafkovsky at the center,proposed by Tony Patoine, could prove to be a solution.
With his physical skills and good faceoff efficiency, Slafkovsky could potentially become the center the Canadiens need for the second unit.
The ongoing rebuild allows for this type of test, and if Slafkovsky performs well in this role, the Canadiens could well solve their center problem internally, without resorting to costly transactions.
Otherwise, let's wait for Ivan Demidov, next year?
Source : TVA Sports
Le CH a-t-il ignoré son centre de premier trio?
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