Habs: ‘The main need now seems to be on the right wing of the first line.’

Throughout the summer of 2025, the entire practice camp, and much of the current season, there has been concern about the second center position with the Montreal Canadiens.

Pretty much everyone wanted to see Kent Hughes acquire a second-line center to improve the team right away, but that never happened.

And now, over the past few months, the need for a second center has greatly diminished thanks to Oliver Kapanen’s performances.

Although he’s not perfect, the 22-year-old rookie forward is doing a tremendous job centering Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky with 31 points, including 18 goals, in 57 games.

Kapanen’s impressive and surprising performances have single-handedly quieted the trade rumors for a second center, and now the main need seems to be elsewhere.

Indeed, the Habs’ primary need now appears to be on the right wing of the first line.