To shut 2023-24, the Montreal Canadiens iced a second line of centre Alex Newhook between wingers Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia. Every of the three forwards ended the season on a excessive.
Armia scored six targets and 9 factors in his final 12 video games. Newhook scored three targets and 9 factors in his final 9 video games. Maybe most impressively, bearing in mind the decline in his manufacturing over the previous few seasons, Gallagher, who jumped on that line to interchange an injured Joshua Roy, scored 5 targets and 10 factors in his final eight contests.
Newhook Gels Between Gallagher and Armia
It’s extremely doable these previous couple of weeks merely represented outliers within the careers of every of these three as a substitute of a show of lasting chemistry. Nevertheless, the alternative can be doable primarily based on how Armia is coming into the final yr of his contract and shall be taking part in for a brand new one, Newhook is simply 23 and by most goal accounts a participant on the rise, and, regardless of Gallagher’s decreased manufacturing, he hasn’t stopped serving to to drive possession and play within the offensive zone.
The purpose is, in precept, that line might work once more. And, whereas Newhook is a logical candidate to play reverse the newly acquired Patrik Laine on centre Kirby Dach’s second line, the emergence of Roy as a viable top-six possibility means Newhook, Armia and Gallagher (why not NAG for brief?) might nonetheless find yourself being a factor… simply because the third line, not second, which ought to let you know all it’s worthwhile to find out about how vastly improved the staff’s offense as an entire initiatives to be.
For a staff that completed with simply 236 targets, that’s excellent news. For some context, the common playoff staff scored 274. Solely a single non-playoff staff scored greater than 270, with the Detroit Crimson Wings (278) ending tied with the wild-card Washington Capitals within the standings, solely to fall brief as a result of a tiebreaker. The implication must be clear, that the playoffs turn out to be extra of a chance the extra targets the Canadiens rating, which actually shouldn’t must be implied. It’s downright logical.
Laine Fills Want for Extra Offense
Granted, an efficient offense on their lonesome doesn’t assure the Canadiens something. Nevertheless, it’s price noting that, in buying Laine, common supervisor Kent Hughes successfully crammed the greatest gap they confronted. And he did it with relative aplomb, getting a former 44-goal scorer in his prime. Seeing as they gave up little offense in trade to accumulate him, Laine alone might make up the distinction between the place the Canadiens had been offense-wise and the place they must be to make the playoffs.
After all, there are different holes. As govt vp of hockey operations Jeff Gorton identified on the staff’s annual golf event, the protection must be higher. To a level, that ought to occur organically, within the sense the protection continues to be younger general however has gained expertise relative to final season. Not for nothing, however the protection has formally improved by itself over the previous few seasons as nicely.
In 2021-22, when the Canadiens completed in final place, they gave up 317 targets and 34.4 photographs per recreation. In 2022-23, these figures stood at 305 and 33.6. Final season? 281 and 33.4. The offense has taken an identical trajectory in the other way, having improved organically too. Even with out Laine, there was each motive to imagine the Habs would enhance on that entrance… considerably too, with Dach coming back from harm after taking part in simply two video games final season.
Three Offensively Succesful Canadiens Strains?
Seeing as Dach seemed he might develop right into a legit top-line expertise in his first season with the staff, probably as a centre who might finally surpass Nick Suzuki, he and Laine might turn out to be an identical dynamic duo to Suzuki and Caufield. It shouldn’t be misplaced on anybody that Caufield has displayed 40-goal scoring potential prior to now, giving them important firepower on the highest two strains a minimum of… which brings us to the underside two.
As illustrated on the prime of the piece, the third line can work in concept. It in fact stays to be seen how head coach Martin St. Louis deploys his lineup, but it surely’s extremely encouraging to suppose {that a} man like Josh Anderson might find yourself being the staff’s fourth-best possibility at proper wing, when, previous to Laine getting acquired, he might realistically have been pencilled into that second-line spot as a substitute.
Associated: Canadiens Face No Different Choice however to Transfer Dvorak After Laine Commerce
Should you look previous Anderson’s struggles final season and his ugly $5.5 million cap hit (till 2027), beneath all of it is a 6-foot-3, speedy energy ahead who can rating, himself (simply with much less presumed frequency than prior to now). Nevertheless, if Gallagher can all of a sudden rediscover his scoring contact underneath the correct circumstances, there also needs to be hope for Anderson, fourth-liner Jake Evans being the one centre with whom he displayed chemistry in 2023-24.
All this depends upon the Canadiens staying wholesome, which isn’t any small feat primarily based on how the previous few seasons have gone. Once more, the one motive Newhook ended up pivoting a second line between Armia and Gallagher is due to the staff’s harm state of affairs final season. Nevertheless, there’s apparent trigger for optimism primarily based on how nicely that unit gelled collectively.
Come a sure level, you need to take a leap of religion that issues will work out as meant. Contemplating the staff is formally coming into Yr 3 of a rebuild, having improved every season within the standings, they sort of are already, simply to not the diploma they’ll. The distinction is, if it involves the following commerce deadline and the Canadiens are icing that very same projected third line, you might be fairly sure issues have labored out about in addition to doable.
Clearly, it wouldn’t be capable to keep collectively, as Armia is a pending unrestricted free agent who can’t realistically be within the staff’s future plans. Nevertheless, he could be the one one who isn’t that deep into the lineup proposed. That’s fairly deep into the lineup… and that’s undeniably important offensive depth.
