“The Canadiens are one center player away from being one of the best teams in the NHL.”

Dose
Crédit: MONTREAL, CANADA - APRIL 16: Nick Suzuki #14 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates Juraj Slafkovský #20, Alexandre Carrier #45, Mike Matheson #8 and Cole Caufield #13 during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre on April 16, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

All summer long, we’ve been talking about Montreal’s famous second center. The club is starting to form an interesting core, but there’s still a gaping hole in the middle of the second line, andright now it’s Kirby Dach (or Alex Newhook, depending on how you look at it) who’s in that chair. Butthe fact is, in many people’s eyes, the Canadiens aren’t even close to being competitive. And Renaud Lavoie, speaking on BPM Sports today, agreed, because in his opinion, the club is just one quality center away from being one of the best teams in the NHL.Not just competitive: one of the best teams in the league, period.

[content-ads]Basically, it’s true that the Canadiens are one center player away from being a much better team… and they already make a good team. Acquiring a true second center would indeed put the Habs in a good position for many years to come, but in reality, it’s logical to ask whether the club is really in a position where one more center would really put it among the league’s elite as early as 2025-26. The informer explains it well: the Habs are banking on a young core that has some crusts to eat and still has some question marks to clear up.Will the first line be as dominant as last year? Will Ivan Demidov change everything this year? Will the very young defense hold up? Will Lane Hutson avoid the sophomore jinx? It‘s true that a quality second center would put everyone in the right chair in Montreal, and there’s no doubt that it would put the club in an interesting situation this year.But the league’s elite, in my eyes, won’t happen for another 2-3 years. And that’s with a second center or not.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- To watch.

– Ah.

– LPHF: a four-team expansion could arrive in 2026-27.

– What do you think?

– Can they do it this year?