Habs Mailbag: Second-line centre at top of Canadiens' wish list

Calgary Herald

26-04-2025

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Longtime Habs fan here in St. John's, N.L. Wondering after seeing the beginning of the playoffs — and how the Habs played down the stretch — what do you see the front office focusing on adding during the off-season? A second-line centre seems like an easy answer. Do you think they may look at adding a second-pairing, tough D-man? Or do you see them using what they have and bringing along David Reinbacher or Logan Mailloux?
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Leon Cantwell
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A second-line centre is indeed the easy answer. I also think the Canadiens will be looking to add some more size at the forward position. They already have plenty of defencemen and with the retirement of David Savard after this season both Reinbacher and Mailloux — who can be very physical — will be looking to earn a spot at training camp next season. Of course, there's also the possibility of one of the young defencemen being included in a trade to acquire a second-line centre.
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I would be surprised if the Canadiens keep both of their first-round picks since they already have plenty of young prospects in their system. Trading both first-round picks to get a high-quality centre also wouldn't surprise me. Gorton and Hughes know what they have already and they also know what they need — and a high-quality centre is at the top of the list. There's also the possibility of acquiring that much-needed centre through free agency if the Canadiens don't make a trade before the draft.
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I saw a YouTube video by RDS that followed Ivan Demidov on the ice during his entire first NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks. I noticed Ivan likes to move his visor above his eyes. He constantly does that like a bad habit. Do any other players do the same? Isn't this a bit risky for our future superstar? Hate to see a Noah Juulsen eye injury happen to him. Being a diehard fan, I'd like to request slash guards and neck guards and maybe even a bodyguard for him.
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Mick Chow
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There are other players who do the same thing with their visors and former Canadien Sean Monahan — now with the Columbus Blue Jackets — is the first one who comes to mind. Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is another. It is very risky and I find it surprising when a young player like Demidov pushes his visor up since he has never played without facial protection and you'd think he'd be used to it. I'm also surprised how many young players on the Canadiens don't wear mouthguards. We used to see more players pushing their visors up when the NHL first made it mandatory for players to wear them, starting in the 2013-14 season. But by now you'd think all players would be used to playing with a visor.