How Canadiens Fill Hole at Centre on Dach Line

The Montreal Canadiens are suddenly under the gun. At management’s end-of-season press conference, while executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said he didn’t see the unexpected playoff finish as “fast-forwarding anything” (i.e., the rebuild), he did concede it’s a stepping stone. That’s code for continued improvement… and it’s going to be very hard for the Habs to improve without a No. 2 centre, Kirby Dach being a question mark.

The forward obviously suffered a second straight season-ending knee injury (to the same knee). That effectively forced the Canadiens to ultimately resort to playing blue-chip-prospect Ivan Demidov with fourth-line-centre Jake Evans, due to the team’s sudden lack of depth down the middle… which is technically further exasperated with the impending loss of Christian Dvorak to free agency. They need another solution, because, all due respect to Evans, expecting him to play above his weight over an entire season simply won’t work.

So, what do they do? Here are the top five options:

5) Re-Sign Dvorak.

The Canadiens obviously reserve the right to re-sign Dvorak (or at least try) as something of a stop-gap measure until someone like top-prospect Michael Hage is ready for the NHL. That may take a few years.

From Dvorak’s perspective, he’s 29 and likely has his sights on a long-term deal. From the Canadiens’ perspective, Dvorak may have finished his four years with the Habs on a strong note, with six goals and 13 points in his last 17 games, but he should be seen as someone who unfortunately didn’t deliver, looking at his overall tenure (103 points in 232 games).

The Canadiens at least know a lineup with Dvorak (and without Dach) works, as they obviously made the playoffs and gave the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals a decent fight in Round 1. However, committing to Dvorak is a mistake, especially when his end-of-season scoring surge probably upped his salary and term demands. A one-year deal might work and give the Habs time to find a longer-term alternative to Dach. Dvorak isn’t it.

4) Give the Spot to Dach

Reports indicate Dach will start next season healthy. Looking at it one way, the ideal solution is the simplest: Give him the job. After all, he had been acquired to play the position in question at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and then earned that opportunity following a successful first season with the Canadiens… only to miss all but two games the next season due to a knee injury (and struggle to find his form the next before suffering another).

That might be a decent strategy if the Canadiens hadn’t just put pressure on themselves to do more than just make the playoffs in 2026. They don’t really have time to waste hoping Dach will regain the ability and mobility that made the move to acquire him a relative success three years ago now. It’s a decent option to keep in their back pocket, seeing as he’s still under team control (only becoming a restricted free agent in 2026). However, they also need to hedge their bets and be more proactive in finding an(other) alternative.

3) Promote Someone Internally

They say one player’s injury is another’s opportunity. Ideally, someone like Oliver Kapanen makes the most of it, but the truth is he hasn’t shown that much offensive potential through 21 total games with the Canadiens last season (and playoffs). And, while they far from have to cut bait with the soon-to-be 22-year-old, it’s no longer a nothing-to-lose situation.

Breaking it down: The Habs need a working second scoring line to find sustainable success next season. Kapanen finds himself in largely the same category as Dach, as someone they would love to see pan out but can’t overly rely on doing so.

It’s at least a better position to be in than the one in which Alex Newhook finds himself. Newhook effectively got relegated to the wing in favour of Evans down the stretch, which is at least slightly understandable based on how his fortunes with the team took a significant turn for the worse. After scoring 34 points in 55 games in 2023-24 (after being acquired the previous summer), he scored just 26 over 82 games in an incredibly disappointing 2024-25.

This season was Newhook’s chance to take the next step and develop into a reliable top-six forward. Dach’s injury was another chance for him to prove he could contribute at centre if necessary. He unfortunately didn’t come through on either front. However, his circumstances do spring to mind yet another alternative.

2) Trade for Someone Externally

In the span of two drafts and a single calendar year, general manager Kent Hughes proved he could take big swings in the trade market to acquire young, up-and-coming talent. First he traded for Dach in 2022. Newhook followed in 2023.