2025-26 Depth Assessment: Centres

The centre position is something the Habs have been trying to shore up for basically multiple general managers now.  However, while they still need some upgrades, the organizational depth is starting to come around.

NHL

Signed: Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Alex Newhook, Nick Suzuki, Joe Veleno
RFAs: None
UFAs: None

For a while, a common question surrounding Suzuki was whether he could produce enough to be a legitimate number one centre.  There was no doubt he was at least a second liner but whether he could find that top gear was a topic of debate.  That should be lessened now after putting up an 89-point season last year.  The captain is still signed for five more years and figures to be a focal point of Montreal’s attack for a long time yet.

The Habs acquired Dach three years ago, giving up a quality defenceman in Alexander Romanov plus some mid-round draft capital to get him.  The hope was that he could become a legitimate top-six player but since then, he has missed more games than he has played and had his conditioning called into question after the season.  This is the final year of his contract and he’s owed a $4 million qualifying offer with arbitration rights next summer.  He’ll need to stay healthy and live up to the hype if he wants a shot at getting that offer.

Newhook is a natural centre who Montreal is clearly more comfortable playing on the wing but over the last two years, he moved back down the middle by the end of the season.  His speed is certainly high-end but the rest of his game hasn’t gotten there with much consistency.  Given the departure of Christian Dvorak – a left-shot centre – it’s likely that Newhook will see more time at his natural position this coming season or at least be deployed much more at the faceoff dot, an area that, like Dach, he needs a lot of work at.

At this time a year ago, there weren’t many who thought Evans would still be in the organization today.  With youngsters coming up, his lineup spot was a logical one for one of them to take.  However, he went out and had a great first half, eventually earning a four-year contract for his efforts, making him a veteran fixture in the bottom six.  He might line up on the fourth line by name at times but as has been the case the last couple of years, his heavy shorthanded usage will up his ATOI to more of a third-line level.

Veleno was a late addition to the UFA market after being bought out by Seattle late last month and after some bigger offers didn’t materialize, he settled on a one-year deal worth only $125,000 above the minimum salary.  He could be a fourth liner in Montreal depending on how the bottom six is put together but there’s also a decent chance that he’s in a reserve role to start the season.  He can play centre and the wing and has killed penalties at times in the past which should make him a useful depth player for the upcoming season.

Needs Assessment: Medium/High – At this point, the need is glaringly obvious, an upgrade on Dach on the second line.  They’ve been looking to fill that spot for a while without much success, going back multiple general managers now.  Additionally, while Veleno can kill penalties, he’s a downgrade on Dvorak.  While Suzuki has killed penalties in the past, it’s probably not ideal to ask him to do so regularly so a defensive upgrade down the middle to help Evans would also be useful.

AHL

Signed: Owen Beck, Lucas Condotta, Oliver Kapanen, Florian Xhekaj
RFAs: None
UFAs: None
AHL Contracts: Laurent Dauphin, Xavier Simoneau
AHL Free Agents: None

Of the two rookies who spent the season with Laval, Beck came in as the one drawing the most attention.  After wrapping up his OHL career on a high note, the hope was that he’d come in and quickly lock down a key two-way role.  Pascal Vincent was relatively patient with Beck overall, however, primarily playing him in the middle-six, often on the third line.  The offensive game didn’t shine as a result (though 44 points in 64 games as a rookie is solid) but he showed why he’s viewed as a supporting player in Montreal’s future forward group.  Now, expectations should be higher if he’s back with the Rocket where locking down a regular top-six spot would certainly be a positive step.

Kapanen could make that task tricky for Beck, however.  He made Montreal’s roster at the beginning of the season, but then went back to Sweden and had an impressive showing, earning him a late-season promotion and even some playoff time before making his Laval debut for the playoffs where he didn’t look out of place.  While Beck might be a bit better defensively, Kapanen might be slightly better offensively which could earn him the first look at a top-six spot if he doesn’t break camp with the Habs.  The two aren’t directly in competition – both can play on the wing if need be – but it’s a battle to keep an eye on into the season.  Kapanen could be a real wild card for the Rocket.

Xhekaj was the other rookie last season and was arguably Laval’s biggest surprise.  While there was some hope that some of the production from junior might come with him, his usage of primarily being a fourth-line centre and penalty killer lessened that to a point.  No matter, as he still managed 24 goals while also leading the league in penalty minutes.  Personally, the fact that he was able to hold his own at centre, do decently on faceoffs, and do well on the top shorthanded unit bodes well for him getting an NHL chance down the road.  It’d be ideal for him to move up to the third line this season and focus a little less on racking up the penalty minutes.

Laval’s captain Condotta recently received a two-year deal, a sign that he’s valued highly by the Canadiens despite a particularly tough year that saw him notch just five goals despite primarily playing in the top six.  More of a checker by nature, it will be interesting to see if he’s deployed that way now with Montreal electing not to retain a lot of Laval’s veteran talent in order to allow some of their prospects to take on a bigger role.  Ideally, he’s someone who is in the bottom six next season.

Laval quickly brought back Dauphin, a player who was more impactful in his second stint with the team than his first, becoming a legitimate top-line player without sacrificing too much from the defensive game that made him a serviceable NHL depth piece for a time.  He’s likely to retain a top-six spot, even in this younger group.  Simoneau was released by the Canadiens at the end of June but signed an AHL deal soon after to stay with the team.  He easily could have fit in on the left wing side of things but did see some time down the middle at times so he’s slotted in this column.  He’s more of a bottom-six fit for this group as well.

Needs Assessment: Low – It’s not the biggest group of players to draw from and it could be shortened should one of Beck or Kapanen break camp with the Habs.  But it should be noted that Alex Belzile, Riley Kidney, and Jared Davidson can also play centre so they have the ability to withstand a couple of injuries or recalls.  That’s a solid spot to be in.

Other Prospects

While the Habs have been searching for a 2C for quite a while now, there’s some hope that Michael Hage could ultimately fill that role down the road.  A legitimate offensive threat with strong playmaking skills, there’s a possibility that he could turn pro after his sophomore year at Michigan this season although he’s still a few years away from realistically sliding into that second centre position.  It’s also possible that Hage’s best fit is on the wing in the pros but at least there’s some hope that he could be the solution.

The Habs traded up twice on the second day of the draft back in June.  The second of those trade-up moves was for Hayden Paupenakis.  His draft-year performance featured some good moments when he was in a more limited role with Spokane with his defensive game shining through.  There were also some rougher moments when Paupenakis was thrown into a top-line role following a midseason trade to Kelowna, a role he wasn’t equipped for.  Still, there’s a reasonable floor and certainly some room for growth offensively.  That, coupled with a 6’5 frame, makes for an intriguing project.  Speculatively, he’s someone who makes sense to jump to the NCAA after the upcoming season to spend more time filling out his frame.

Last season was a tough one for Aatos Koivu.  He spent the bulk of the year in Finland’s top league but played rather sparingly, averaging just over nine minutes a game.  Not surprisingly, his offensive production languished and a five-week bout with mononucleosis didn’t help either.  Viewed as a two-way player with an above-average shot, Koivu has some catching up to do this season and is still probably a couple of years away from the Habs even thinking about offering him a contract.

A good showing in the SHL playoffs in 2024 yielded some higher expectations for Filip Eriksson heading into last season.  He didn’t meet them.  Like Koivu, he did spend most of the year at the top level but playing time was hard to come by.  To his credit, Eriksson did a little better when he was sent down to the second-tier Allsvenskan level but even then, it was a drop in production compared to the year before.  Now halfway to the point of needing to be signed, he’s trending in the wrong direction but has enough raw skills to not write him off just yet.

On the whole, Ben Merrill didn’t have a great season but if you’re looking for something to hang your hat on, he got better and was more productive as the year went on, culminating with a strong playoff showing.  But while he’s a big centre with some offensive upside if all goes well, he’s very much a long-term project who is years away from even contemplating turning him pro.

Jack Smith had another underwhelming season at Minnesota-Duluth and entered the transfer portal this summer to join Minnesota State (Mankato).  It has been a while since he has even been invited to attend development camps, a sign that he is a prospect simply by technicality since he has taken a long time to use up his college eligibility.

Needs Assessment: Medium – Hage gives the Habs one legitimate piece here but he’s really the only one with top-six upside.  Suzuki being signed for another half-decade lessens the immediate need but this prospect pool could use another top-six centre in the pipeline.  Depth-wise beyond that, they’re not in bad shape.

2025-26 Depth Assessment: Goalies
2025-26 Depth Assessment: Left Defencemen
2025-26 Depth Assessment: Right Defencemen
2025-26 Depth Assessment: Left Wingers