Canadiens’ 2nd Line Will Determine Success of the Rebuild

A quality second line insulates the top line from hard matchups, sustains offensive pressure when stars are off the ice, and allows the coaching staff to manage minutes more intelligently. In a market that understands hockey nuance as deeply as Montreal, a quality second line represents the difference between a young team that shows flashes and one that can consistently dictate play. 

Rebuilding teams often survive on power-play bursts but struggle at even strength. The 2024-25 edition of the Canadiens were 17th in scoring with a total of 243 goals for (GF), which was an average of 2.96 goals for per game. This season, they are currently fourth in GF at 135 and third in goals for per game at 3.38. Over 82 games, at that rate, they would score 277 goals, a full 35 more than last season.

Now that isn’t all just from having a skilled second line, some of that is also attributable to the additional puck-moving defencemen on the roster, and a lethal power play (PP) that is seventh in the NHL at 24.1% which is a major improvement over the 20.1% they earned in 2024-25 that left them ranked 17th.  Let’s begin with the obvious bonus, additional scoring.  

The Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, and Juraj Slafkovsky line have added 14 goals over the last 10 games, and both wingers on Kapanen’s wings are scoring more than a point per game over that time. The line sits top five in expected goals for as well as expected goals for per 60 minutes. While it is clear that a line made up of two rookies and led by a player with less than 250 NHL games played (Slafkovsky) does have defensive flaws, it is also clear that part of their game as a line is improving as the season goes on. The important part is that their offence outstrips their defensive issues.  

Secondly, having an entire other offensive unit provides more than just depth scoring and PP options. It spreads opposing defences, forcing them to focus on more than just Suzuki and Caufield. We’re seeing how teams have a hard time matching up against two lines instead of only one, with the result being that the first line, even with its rotating choices on the wing to complement the top two offensive players on the team, becomes more dangerous because it’s no longer carrying the entire offence. The bonus here is that Montreal becomes harder to defend over a full 60 minutes, not just in spurts. 

Having more than one line to rely on for offence gives head coach Martin St. Louis options that can allow him to take advantage of matchups on home ice. While the Canadiens’ record at home is still not ideal, it is improving. Having two scoring lines allows St. Louis the luxury of using one line to tire out top opposition defensive units and deploy his other offensive line to take advantage of the fatigue, or the secondary defences. This has led to the Canadiens being able to dictate how the games are played instead of reacting to their opponents. The overall team’s experience level (as the youngest team on average in the NHL) does provide them with other challenges that they will need time to overcome.  

In turn, this allows the team to stay in games they never had a hope of competing in as little as one season ago. A look at their first three games on this post-Christmas break road trip, where they mounted comebacks against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, in which they were able to add five of the six possible points in those games, allowing them to remain in the hunt for top spot in the Atlantic Division. 

Canadiens Salary Cap Planning  

It’s not all chocolates and roses; there will be issues that need to be addressed, specifically, the salary cap. Building via the draft and development methods is well known. They are methods that have been used successfully by every championship team in the modern NHL. However, since the advent of the hard salary cap, the difference between a team able to challenge for a championship with some luck and a true contending club lies with salary cap management.  

A true second line usually means mid-to-high cap hits, which leads to salary cap compression. This can limit flexibility when young stars like Demidov will be in line for contract extensions. Thankfully for Hughes, Demidov is a key piece of that second line already, so the salary provided to the young star will only mean sacrifices at the bottom of the roster may need to be made, depending on the term and total salary the young Russian forward requires. 

The biggest pitfall in a rebuild is the potential misallocation of cap resources. Investing heavily in a second line might come at the expense of other areas of need, such as blue-line depth, long-term centre depth and goaltending insurance. Yet in Montreal, Hughes has been preparing himself by convincing nearly every core player to sign long-term deals with friendly salary cap numbers. Most recently, signing Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson to deals that are slightly below their full market value. Adding their deals to those of Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky, who all left some money on the table, provides considerable savings that Hughes can spend to fill other needs. That said, it is still in the club’s best interest to continue that streak. 

Ideally, second lines should outperform their cap hit, not match elite contracts, as overpaying the second line will drain resources that can add the depth needed to become an elite team. The ideal average annual value (AAV) allocation for a second line should be around 20% of the team’s total cap. The NHL’s salary cap for the 2026-27 season is expected to take a large leap, to approximately $104 million. That means that a second line should receive approximately $20.8 million. Montreal’s current second line of Slafkovsky, Kapanen and Demidov earns $9.47 million until the end of the 2026-27 season. 

In the end, the Canadiens’ ability to establish and sustain a legitimate, productive second line will be one of the clearest indicators that the rebuild has finally turned the corner. More importantly, how the salaries are handled will become the real indication that the franchise can be a true contender. What Montreal is beginning to show is not just improved scoring totals, but a structural shift in how the team can compete on a nightly basis. With their current second line’s ability to generate offence at even strength, the Canadiens move from being opportunistic to being capable of winning games in multiple ways rather than relying on special teams or isolated bursts from their top players. 

Just as importantly, Hughes’ cap management approach aligns with the realities of the salary-cap era. By building a second line that dramatically outperforms its cap hit, he is preserving the necessary salary flexibility while also accelerating competitiveness. This avoids the biggest trap in the rebuild process of being forced to pay full market prices for their core group. If this line continues to develop, it won’t just complement the Suzuki–Caufield core; it could also provide a solution in their search for a competent second-line centre. In that sense, the Canadiens’ second line isn’t just a supporting cast; it is the hinge on which this rebuild’s next phase will swing.