That's an extremely green lineup down the middle for what's supposed to be the turning point year in the rebuild. Again I'm not pounding the table here saying we absolutely NEED to sign Evans but I don't think we should be assuming in September 2024 that a 2021 and 2022 draftee will be good NHL centers from day one for a team that's ostensibly going to be trying to climb the standings.
Having Beck/Kapanen or Evans on the 4th line isn't going to make much of a difference to the habs making the playoffs. The impact of a 4th line center is limited.
I think they're going to dump one of Anderson or Gallagher this summer (likely Anderson), and I think it's premature to just assume that Beck and Kapanen will seamlessly adjust as our 3/4Cs from day one. This time last year, everyone would have been including RHP in all these projections and now he's an afterthought. Roy or Newhook could easily be part of a trade for a big name RD at the draft or next summer too. Even Suzuki didn't start out as a C in the NHL. These things don't really pan out like clockwork and there are always going to be injuries.
RHP is a small winger drafted in the 7th round as an overager and is now 25 years old. Beck and Kapanen are both good-sized 2-way centers who are great on faceoffs and were drafted in the 2nd round. The pedigree/value of RHP and Beck/Kapanen are nowhere near the same.
Beck and Kapanen don't need to be a perfect 3C/4C to be in the NHL. They will be rookies, so there will be ups and downs. Slafkovsky, Xhekaj, Roy, etc. weren't perfect players when they made the nhl.
I agree about Dvorak or Armia because I don't like the fit they provide, but I can totally see the case for Evans and Savard. We're not gonna run Reinbacher Mailloux Barron on the right side next year and if Savard doesn't seem to be slowing down too aggressively I could see the case for something on a 1-2 year term at a lower dollar figure.
We're not going to run Reinbacher Mailloux Barron on the right side because one of Guhle or Matheson will be on the right side.
Guhle - Matheson
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Mailloux
Reinbacher, Mailloux, Engstrom, Trudeau, Struble, and Barron are all knocking on the door, and Savard will be blocking one of them, and probably won't even be better.
We're not going to ice an entire lineup of U25 players outside of Suzuki and Laine, they're going to sign some veteran depth players even if they aren't Evans and Savard specifically.
They aren't going to sign old players who will block prospects from making the team. That's pretty clear with what Hughes has been saying to the media.
There is also already veteran depth players signed for multiple more years on the team in Anderson and Gallagher.
