While Kent Hughes was able to make a big splash on draft day by landing Noah Dobson in a trade with the New York Islanders, the hunt to bolster the Montreal Canadiens’ top six continues. It’s no secret that the Tricolore would have liked to find that ever elusive second-line center. Still, pivots of that pedigree are few and far between on the market, and many teams are looking for that kind of gem, which has prompted the GM to widen his search to include top-six wingers that fit a specific profile.
Does that mean the Canadiens should try to keep hold of Christian Dvorak? Marc Bergevin acquired the pending UFA after they had lost Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet and Philip Danault to the Los Angeles Kings in free agency. It wasn’t so much that Dvorak was what the Canadiens needed, but rather, he was one of the rare centers available on the market.
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Four years down the line, the 6-foot-1 and 190-pound left-shot center only managed to play a complete season once in Montreal, and during that campaign, he only put up 33 points. After nine years and 534 NHL games in which he gathered 249 points, it’s evident that the offensive upside he showed in junior hockey was brought on by linemates Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk. Dvorak is not the man who could center the Habs’ second line.
Should Hughes bring him back to keep centering a veteran line with Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson? After all, they were an efficient line for the Sainte-Flanelle last season. We have to look back at the GM’s season post-mortem to find a clue to answer that question. While he wouldn’t speak about specific players, Hughes did say that he needed to be wary of blocking the development of his young players by signing free agents.
Hughes is trying to build a perennial contender and wants to favour organic development. This past season, the Canadiens had two rookies who stuck around all season long: Lane Hutson and Emil Heineman. Both players had a more than satisfactory season and were well surrounded by veterans. Next season, it seems evident that Ivan Demidov will be one of the rookies, but there could be another spot up front up for grabs, which Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck should be contending for.
Bringing back Dvorak could make them wonder why a veteran has just filled a spot they have in their crosshairs. If Hughes signs a veteran center, it must be an impact player with top-six upside, not one for the bottom six. Jake Evans is already penciled in down there, and you’ve got to keep a spot which the kids can contend for.
Sure, Dvorak was experienced and could play on the penalty kill, but Kapanen did that in the Swedish league and even played on the man-advantage as well. The whole point of sending him back to Europe was to allow him to gain experience in areas he wouldn’t have the opportunity to work on in the NHL. Now, with Dvorak gone, he does have that opportunity. If it turns out he cannot do it, Captain Nick Suzuki can always go back to playing on the penalty killing unit, although that would be less than ideal with his already heavy workload, but the option is there if needed.
In other words, signing Dvorak to a new contract would send the wrong message to the youngsters; it would tell them that the organization does not believe they are ready to take the next step, and it could have a profoundly negative impact on their motivation.
Of course, going with youth will bring its share of growing pains; there will be times when the team may miss the veteran, but that’s a regular part of the process. It was the same with Hutson last season; as the calendar progressed, the turnovers and hazardous decisions decreased. That’s just normal – young players need to learn and grow in an NHL setting. Gaining experience in the AHL is all well and good, but it remains a lower league, and what works there may not work at the highest level. They need to be allowed to find that out for themselves.
Could it backfire? Not really, the worst thing that can happen is that there are more growing pains than the Habs thought there would be, between that and being stuck with a veteran who has become surplus to requirements and is almost impossible to trade because of a contract that is either too long or too generous. This doesn’t strike me like a trap Hughes is likely to fall into. Dvorak performed well for the Canadiens in a bottom-six role last season, but room must be made for youth, and that means there’s no room for him anymore.
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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