Did Kent Hughes acquire his second line center without knowing it?
After two seasons as the general manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes has achieved several trades, acquiring very interesting elements for the current and future lineup of the team, in addition to liquidating some undesirable contracts.
Among his good moves, there is certainly the arrival of Kirby Dach last summer, who offered very nice things in his first season in Montreal, suggesting a fairly incredible potential for the years to come.
If he was acquired with the intention of having him lead the second line of the Tricolore as a center player, when Martin St-Louis decided to place him on the wing with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, it was an instant fireworks. The three players complement each other wonderfully, having skills in different aspects of the "game".
At the dawn of a new season, it will be interesting to see what the team's plan with Dach will be, whether he will be used at the center or on the wing at the beginning of the season.
In connection with this dilemma, a very interesting statement has just surfaced regarding a newcomer to the CH, who could solve many headaches by allowing Dach to be kept on the first line.
A former coach of Alex Newhook in the AHL, Greg Cronin, who is now the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, has just stated something big about his former protégé. He answered the question of how to make the new number 15 of the Canadiens shine, and his answer is fascinating:
He adds that linemates who can keep up with his pace will need to be found to see him succeed:
Cronin ends by mentioning that Newhook really has what it takes to become an important cog in the Canadiens' offense.
With what the new coach of the Ducks has stated about Newhook, if he really believes that the latter can succeed at the center of a top 6, he could possibly become a more important piece of the puzzle than anticipated at the time of his acquisition.
Did Kent Hughes get his hands on his future second-line center player?
It must be said that if Dach remains with Suzuki and Caufield, which forms a young dynamic and promising trio, having Newhook possibly with Juraj Slafkovsky on the left flank soon, there is a very interesting lineup base for the team's future.
| POLL | ||
Which scenario interests you the most in the future top 6 of the Canadiens? | ||
| Dach as second center / Newhook on the wing | 33 | 49.3 % |
| Dach on the wing of the first line / Newhook | 23 | 34.3 % |
| Both on the wing and someone else at center | 11 | 16.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
