Jimmy Murphy Doesn’t See Zacha As a 2C Fit With The Habs

Murphy’s reasoning for Zacha being more of a winger actually makes sense, but at the same time, there is a reason that he could fit as the centreman on a line with a play-driving winger like Ivan Demidov. He brings up the fact that Zacha was mainly only a centre for the Bruins when he was playing with a star play driver like David Pastrnak, who manages to make everyone around him better. Eventually, Zacha was pushed to the wing when Pastrnak developed chemistry with a more natural centre in Morgan Geekie. 

Now, Demidov may not drive play as well as Pastrnak during his first season in the NHL, but he will continue to improve his game as his rookie campaign goes on and will likely be the play driver on his line. This is why a guy like Zacha works as a centre for Demidov and Patrik Laine, as the Czech forward has proven to be a good faceoff player who has won 54.1% of his draws over the last 2 seasons, which would be the best on the Habs in that time. 

So while Zacha’s all-around game doesn’t resemble the traditional play-driving centre, he does bring a very important element to playing centre that is needed, which would instantly make him a fit. When you have a player that has the potential that Demidov has, any offensive player who can win faceoffs can serve as a good centre for his line. 

Zacha, who had a down year offensively last season, where he only put up 14 goals and 47 points, will be looking to bounce back to the 55-60 point pace that he had the previous two seasons with the Bruins. Playing with an up-and-coming team like the Canadiens could be the way for Zacha to get his offensive game back on track alongside an elite sniper like Laine and a potential elite playmaker like Demidov. 

As well as discussing Zacha potentially getting traded, Marinaro and Murphy talked about the interest that Jayden Struble is attracting around the NHL. Murphy confirmed there have been a few teams calling the Habs about his availability. Given the organizational logjam on the left side of the defense for the Canadiens, it makes sense that there would be teams interested in Struble, which includes the Boston Bruins. 

If the Habs do end up getting Zacha, it would seem that both Murphy and D’Amico see Struble as being part of the package that would get the Canadiens their potential centre.

Do you agree with Jimmy Murphy that Pavel Zacha isn’t a good fit as a potential 2nd line centre with the Habs, or do you see him being a good option?