Canadiens must solve Christian Dvorak mystery at center – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak is not a problem in and of itself. The problem is the superiority of strikers like him at the bottom of the line, the needle does not move, respect for him.

However, objectively speaking, how else can one rate Dvorak's game? After scoring just five goals and four assists in an injury-shortened 30-game season, the best Canadiens fans can say about the guy is that he's at least replaceable on the ice.

Alex Newhook emerged as another option at Centre

With multiple injuries in the middle (Dvorak and Kirby Dach) and Sean Monahan being traded before the deadline, the Canadiens were lucky. They were in a position where expectations were still low and head coach Martin St. Louis could get creative with his roster decisions.

Related: Canadiens coach St. Louis' most questionable placement move yet

Fourth lineman Jake Evans scored a respectable 28 points in an 82-game season, on top of the offensive responsibility, with ~1:30 more ice time per game than last season. However, the real story was Alex Newhook. He had a breakout campaign at center when, based on the lines the Canadiens deployed to start the season, they viewed him as a winger on Dutch's line.

Of course, then Dach was injured in two games, forcing the Canadiens to pivot. As a result, Newhook was thrown into the fire. St.Louis played him in the middle of Juraj Slafkowski and Josh Anderson to mixed reviews, which is a polite way of saying he can't score to save his life. It was eventually dismantled.

Newhook himself suffered an injury in late November, only for Monaghan to return in early February after recovering from a sprained leg. At this point Newhook had little option but to give him another chance in the center and he made the most of it. Before the injury, he had 13 points (seven goals) in 23 games. He finished the season with 21 points (eight goals) in the last 30 games.

Overall, Newhoek scored 34 points in 55 games, putting him on pace with Dutch last season (38 points in 58 games). Seeing as Dutch emerged as the Canadiens' second-string center at the time (considered by some to be the No. 1 center of the future), it's clear that Newhoek could also play down the middle.

Canadians shoot down from the top row

Interestingly, the problem is predicted to be Canadians too to get a shot there to start a healthy 2024-25. Between Dvorak, Dach, Evans and Nick Suzuki, the Canadiens have no room for anyone else. More importantly, there really isn't room for Joel Armia to re-establish himself as a Top-12 (if not Top-9) offensive player in the organization after being cut to start 2023-24. That's especially if the Canadiens decide to keep eligible but waiver-exempt Joshua Roy in the NHL next season (and they should).

If the first line of Suzuki, Slafkowski and Cole Caufield stays intact (and he is should), that leaves 11 players competing for nine spots. This is all well and good under certain hypothetical circumstances:

• No prospect will earn a spot in training camp (except Roy as a prospect).
• The Canadiens will go with seven defensemen despite organizational hurdles.
• They are comfortable putting one of Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher on the fourth line (despite their heavy hitting).

Unfortunately, the latter point contradicts common sense and past experience. Even though Anderson has had a terrible season, the Canadiens seem willing to continue to try with him based on his upside as a forward with a unique combination of size and speed. They tried everything to promote it, but to no avail. So they give him a chance next to Dach.

Newhook should in theory take the other seat on the second row. You're suddenly down to eight forwards and six positions, and you still want to believe that Roy is going to not only get involved, but allow himself to succeed. That means putting him on the third line, and since he's had the most success playing with Joel Armia, the latter should also be placed there, with Dvorak being the most likely center in such a situation.

The Business of Trading with Christian Dvorak

That would put Gallagher and his $6.5 million cap hit, the third-highest on the team, on the fourth line, which isn't going to happen, especially when he finishes the season as hard as he did. The only reasonable solution is to use Dvorak's early return from injury to replace him this season (for example).

Such a trade has a positive domino effect on the rest of the list. Newhook will take the third-string center first. All of a sudden, you can reunite the team's second string from the end of the season, Army and Gallagher, who replaced the injured Roy there. If Newhook is no longer a solid second line, you can move Roy to play Dach and Anderson. Even though Roy will no longer play with Army, playing with a proven forward in Dutch should more than make up for the inconvenience.

On top of that, based on the proven offensive capabilities of Dutch and Newhook in the middle, it gives the Canadiens two hypothetical second options (to go with their first option). Ironically, by losing Dvorak, the Canadiens actually added to their depth as they no longer had to resort to building a line around him with spare parts.

With Army and Gallagher's help, Newhook has shown he can help the network compete to be greater than the sum of its parts. In contrast, Dvorak has spent the past three seasons struggling to find his spot in the lineup, to being benched and back again, with little to no traction. In fact, his points and goal totals are decreasing every season. As a result, one more remains under contract at $4.45 million and is unlikely to be re-signed.

Regarding the Army ($3.4 million). The difference is that Army just scored a career-high 17 goals. With high expectations heading into 2024-25, the Canadiens have to assume he has a lot more to offer, and Newhook effectively made Dvorak obsolete (besides the point, Dvorak won 57.8% of his faceoffs vs. Newhook's 46.5%. Still, a solid prediction: Keeping someone with a $4.45 million salary just to face off is not how winning franchises typically run their organizations.

It's true that it's easier said than done. However, in similar circumstances, to create roster room, general manager Kent Hughes traded Mike Hoffman, who struggled to fit in with the Canadiens last season. No one expected Hughes to be able to pull this off, especially with such grace as he did. So perhaps a victim of his own success, he should make trading Dvorak a priority this offseason. Whether or not he pulled it off remains to be seen, but it would solve a lot of problems. Everyone should at least see this.