2nd Line Center Question

[MarkovsKnee]

Probably trade for quality center at draft. A top 2 center hard to find. Even if we draft a Misa or Desnoyers they are three years from helping us. Dach has no durable, don't rely on him

Misa is not 3 years away. He's in NHL next year for sure. Desnoyers defensive game is so good he's probably only 1-2 years away.

We also already have Hage who is another year away from turning pro. I expect him to play another NCAA year.

Beck should be in NHL next year.

 

[Vachon23]

We will know what is available when next season start. Habs only have 8 players signed for Seguin's last contract year. They have 7-8 spots to fill next season (contract extension, prospects, new acquisitions), and 7-8 again the year after.

Hughes has pretty much filled the cap space as it was created. Also, Andy/Gally are still on the roster (last season).

We will have many ELC At that time but to be honest that’s far from being my plan A, but it’s an option I would consider since they won’t be a lot of option for a top 6 center

 

[Deebs]

I really liked what I was seeing in Dach pre injury, both offensively and and all over the 200 feet of the ice.

So I really hope he can fully recover from his injury. There's no guarantee. And, it could end up taking even a few years.

The problem is, for this season, we desperately needed a 2c, and he would have been by far the best option. Not his fault that he's not. Hopefully he can find a role as he tries to get his game back.

My money is on Laine being the best option at 2c for the second half of the season. But finding and discovering Laine's best position and linemates will also be a process I would imagine.

We no longer need a #2C for this year unfortunately, we're a lottery team. So what we should do is continue to let Kirby get his minutes at Center and see how he does for the entirety of the year. The long offseason will give him lots of time to get all of his workouts in and be fully ready for camp.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't look at all our options during the summer to better the team at that position though. Trades, offersheets, etc.... Everything should be on the table.

Laine is not and has never been a Center. There's no reason to play him there.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He skates with the puck in the offensive zone, does nothing with it, then waits for Gudaz to reach him to pad his hit stats, achieving nothing. Did he try crashing the net? Nope. Did he even attempt a shot? Neither. It's either not a good example of Dach's worth, or exactly what the problem is with him.

I don't want losers like this on the team. Sorry for you, your idol is just a nothing player at the moment. Not that I ever thought he was anything more than a nothing player personally.

I'd take Rene Bourque or Lhars Eller over him any day.

This might be one of the worst posts I've ever read on this site.. wow.

 

[vokiel]

Maybe we have our 2nd line centre (Suzuki), what we need is to draft our 1st line centre (Misa or Hagens)

Suzuki is a 1st line center in this league. Maybe you folks are complicating things too much. The issue is Dach and Newhook aren't top 6 players for shit. So swap them for improved wings and you'll have your 2nd line center in Beck, Kapanen and eventually Hage.

 

[yianik]

This keeps coming up in different forms so I figured I'd create it's own thread for it here.

The Canadiens came into this season pretty confident that Dach would be their number two. So far it hasn't worked out that way and as a result the entire lineup seems off. Posters seem split on what to do with Dach himself but while he works to get his confidence back, we still remain without a true number two center. So what route do we take?

Option 1. Stay the course. Wait for Dach to find his game and tough it out. This likely results in a high pick anyway so there's an extra benefit from going this route.
Option 2. Trade for a temporary fix. We could trade for a Monahan/Malkin type and ride them for a couple of years. We'd probably go up in the standings but they could help the youngters develop.
Option 3. Trade for a more permanent solution. In this scenario we get somebody who can fill in for years at the position.

In all of these scenarios, I like the idea of keeping Dach. I think he'll regain his form even if it takes time. At the very least he'd be great to have for center depth.

I agree that we have to ride out the year with Dach. In his first year with us he got better as the season progressed, even finding his shot which a centre needs to have in order to have a good passing game. He was promising that year and unfortunately last year was a disaster. So I think he has the ability to be a 2C , he needs to get himself together mentally.

The 2C we want is ideally a young guy but of course every team wants a young and good 2C. So we need a guy who has at least 3-4 good years left so we can compete in these next 4 years.

A reason to give Dach the year is, why not ? We are not going for any Cup and while I want us to start being more competitive, its important to not give up assets for a legit 2C if we dont have to make such a trade. Why ? Aside from perhaps a starting goalie, the most significant other piece we need is a top D man, no offense to Matheson. I think Hutson is a sure no.#3 but dont know about him as top pairing. Guhle as no.2. The no.4D spot needs replacing soon as Savard is likely gone.. I dont see anybody in the system for that spot in the short term, especially the RHD. An injured Reinbacher and a year of lost development really hurts.

To get both a 2C and a top D man is very costly. So give Dach the shot, hope he figures it out as I think we will have to trade for a top RHD.

 

[HuGort]

Sign a faceoff artist like Giroux another option. Until Hage or Beck are mature. Kapanen also. He'd be good mentor for them.

. I don't have much faith in Dach. He's not durable and real rusty.

 

[calder candidate]

We have assets out the Yin Yang. We have extra picks, tons of prospects… that’s not a problem.

We do have asset, we have a lot of asset but we don’t have that much valuable and those are the asset we need to improve the team or out bidding playoffs team for a 2C That won’t be with the team or won’t be doing the job in 2-3 years… It isn’t worth it, it barely make sense for a playoffs team it make even less for a rebuilding team…