Montreal Canadiens Analysis: Improving Depth Among Forwards

NHL free agency has been open for two weeks, and yet the Montreal Canadiens have essentially remained inert as most teams around the league desperately attempt to add talent via the least efficient source available.

There’s some logic to their inactivity, as a sober look at the team’s rebuild will reveal things are going well, but there’s still a lot of work to do when it comes to taking the next step. Of course, we shouldn’t ignore the addition of Alex Barré-Boulet to the mix, but as of now, the Habs will ice a very similar forward lineup in the 2024-25 as they did last season.

That doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. As Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes suggested, the team is willing to add talent, but they’re not going to sacrifice short-term gain for long-term development pain in the case of the many young players they expect to play a significant role once the team is ready to compete in a few years.

With that in mind, we can take a closer look at the depth chart up front to get a better idea of which positions are most in need of reinforcements.

Montreal Canadiens 2024 Summer Depth Chart – Forwards

(The depth chart does not necessarily indicate where the players will end up. It’s also worth noting that some players can play in multiple positions.)

The first thing that stands out is the lack of talent on the wings. There’s decent depth in both cases, even if the left side of the ice is a little short on bodies. This will likely lead to Alex Newhook once again spending many of his shifts on the wings. It suits his game better, as it allows him to exploit his speed to create scoring chances while forgetting about some of the defensive responsibilities that come with playing down the middle of the ice.

The centre depth and talent is fairly good, but once you shift Newhook to the wing and remember Kirby Dach has a long history of injuries, it’s not as encouraging as it could be.

The biggest issue for now is that the Habs are a one-line team. Beyond the top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, there’s very little in terms of established trios in the lineup. That makes shutting them down much easier, as the opposing coach knows exactly where Montreal’s offence will come from and can thus focus on three players to neuter the team’s offensive punch.

Some fans will suggest there’s the potential for a solid second line, especially once top prospect Ivan Demidov is added to the mix. And they’re right. But ‘potential’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence, and that goes for more players than just Demidov. Dach must stay healthy. It’s an unfair caveat when we consider most injuries are random, but for the Habs to enjoy a modicum of success by the end of the year, Dach’s skill in transition will play a big part, and that involves playing more than 50 percent of the games. In addition, Joshua Roy has to prove his excellent play last year can be repeated. I’m not overly worried that he will suddenly forget how to play hockey, but there’s no guarantee he will hit the ground running, as he did when he was recalled from the Laval Rocket in 2023-24.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

There are a few other players we have to consider. Brandon Gignac, Owen Beck, Lucas Condotta, Oliver Kapanen, and Emil Heineman, among others, will have an opportunity to earn a job at training camp. But they’re not necessarily the type of players that will make a significant impact, especially since they’d undoubtedly have to work their way up the lineup.

Simply put, the Canadiens could stand to add short-term reinforcements up front, and they don’t have to be too picky when it comes to the positions. Another serviceable centre and winger would do wonders in ensuring the Habs would have a chance to ice at least two lines that are worth defending on any given night.

Ideally, they would add long-term reinforcements in both positions, but as we already discussed, it can’t be a player who is on the wrong side of 30 and is headed for an inevitable decline. Unfortunately for the Montreal Canadiens, players in their prime are rarely, if ever available in free agency, which points to a trade as the most logical step forward when it comes to improving the lineup.