The Canadiens on the verge of acquiring a center player?

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Greg Wilson
November 5, 2024 (4:58 PM)

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Aside from Nick Suzuki, the performance of the Canadiens' center players has been rather disappointing since the start of the season.

The proof, Jake Evans pivoted Martin St-Louis' second line during the team's training Monday in preparation for tonight's clash against the Calgary Flames.

This lead Jean-Charles Lajoie to comment that the Canadiens center players, with the exception of the captain, are not up to par and that Jake Evans finds himself there somewhat by default. He points here to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook who should give more according to him.

«If Jake Evans is there, it's because Dach isn't doing the job, it's because Dvorak isn't doing the job, it's because [Oliver] Kapanen isn't doing the job, [ ...] Newhook too. »

During the segment The Coliseum during the JiC show on TVA Sports, Lajoie and Tony Marinaro debated on the subject and the latter suggested to Kent Hughes that he seek reinforcement from the San Jose Sharks.

«If the Canadiens really wants to be in the mix, it wouldn't be a good idea to identify a top 2 center from teams that are doing poorly, in the West, who perhaps would like to have a young player or draft picks, and getting rid of a player? »

«I'll give you an example: the Sharks have the worst record in the NHL. Mikael Granlund is in the final year of his contract. He is a good offensive player, he can help the Canadian as a second center player. It's not the best, but it's better than what they have right now. »

The latter is having a very good start to the season and as the Sharks should finish at the bottom of the standings, Kent Hughes could very well call his Sharks counterpart to come to a common ground.

With the Finnish striker being in his last year of contract, the price to acquire him should not be very high.