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Despite a particularly rough start to the season, a handful of Montreal forwards earned strong grades for their early efforts while several others were issued failing grades from our writers.
Players must have played in five games to receive a grade. Our writers each voted on a scale of one to ten for a rating for each player; the average rating appears here. They were asked to evaluate on the player’s performance relative to their role.
Brendan Gallagher: 8.6/10
Gallagher is picking up where he left off last season and is on pace to score over 30 goals and 50 points. This is exactly where he was at his prime and demonstrating once again fans should not count Gallagher out. What is even more impressive is that he’s doing this playing on the third line with lower-quality linemates than he had in his prime. This is about as much as could be hoped coming into the season. His energy and drive are relentless and he is a leader for the Habs.
Stats: 20 GP, 8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points, -4 rating, 4 PIMS, 40 shots, 14:26 ATOI
Cole Caufield: 8.3/10
Caufield led the team in shots and shooting percentage (25%) which culminated in him near the top of the league in goals. Fans just need to enjoy this while it lasts as his shooting percentage will naturally regress and teams improve their defensive coverage on him. On the defensive side, Caufield is still making defensive blunders and leaving his man open at times. In his fourth NHL season, this needs to be cleaned up. Aside from that, just keep doing what you are doing Goal Caufield!
Stats: 20 GP, 12 goals, 4 assists, 16 points, -6 rating, 4 PIMS, 47 shots, 17:46 ATOI
Jake Evans: 7.6/10
Jake Evans has been playing well above his talent level. As the only other competent centre (other than Suzuki), Evans has played on the second and third lines after often playing on the fourth in recent years. On a competitive team, he would be in that fourth-line slot which demonstrates the gaping hole this team has. His effort is always there and he is strong defensively, but his offensive instincts are lacking. While Habs management is deciding what to do, Evans is doing his part to fill the gap.
Stats: 20 GP, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points, -2 rating, 4 PIMS, 20 shots, 15:59 ATOI
Nick Suzuki: 7.5/10
While Suzuki put up nearly a point per game, there were stretches where he did not seem engaged. In his postgame interviews at times, it sounded like he was tired and defeated which reminded me too much of Max Pacioretty’s interviews. As the captain and top centre, Suzuki is expected to lead the way so he’s in a tough position. As the only offensive centre on the team, he knows if he doesn’t have a good game, the team will likely lose. Hopefully, the weight of the pressure doesn’t bear down on him too much in these rebuilding years. He truly is one of the best centres the team has had in years. Management needs to bring in some support.
Stats: 20 GP, 7 goals, 12 assists, 19 points, -3 rating, 4 PIMS, 45 shots, 19:54 ATOI
Josh Anderson: 6.2/10
Considering that Anderson is only playing 12:15 minutes a game at even strength with virtually no power play time, he’s actually producing quite well. As a result, he’s getting his confidence back and his energy and hard-paced game has followed. He’s been a regular on the penalty kill which was rated sixth overall at the end of this segment with an 84% success rate. While fans may want more, this is a great start to the season considering how last season ended. If Anderson can continue his play and gain more momentum, the third line for the Habs could be a dominant one.
Stats: 20 GP, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points, -2 rating, 23 PIMS, 25 shots, 14:00 ATOI
Emil Heineman: 6.2/10
Heineman has finally made his debut after being one of the pieces of the Tyler Toffoli from Calgary. He has been deployed in a limited role for the most part playing fourth line as Martin St. Louis eases him into the lineup. There have been opportunities where he’s played higher up and on the power play in which he hasn’t looked too bad. He’s a good skater with a good shot and he’s started his NHL career in a reasonable fashion.
Stats: 19 GP, 4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points, -5 rating, 8 PIMS, 24 shots, 10:22 ATOI
Joel Armia: 5.7/10
Joel Armia received 1:49 minutes of power play, 2:28 minutes of shorthanded time, and 10:21 minutes of even strength play every game. He played throughout the lineup including the first and fourth lines. In terms of special teams play, he has been one of the most widely used forward on the team which demonstrates his versatility. This might be management’s plan to audition Armia for an upcoming trade as his contract is up this season. Armia is on pace for 36 points, which would be a career high so his trade value is in a good spot right now.
Stats: 20 GP, 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points, -8 rating, 12 PIMS, 26 shots, 14:39 ATOI
Lucas Condotta: 5.6/10
As an AHL call-up, Condotta was playing fourth line protected minutes. Hovering at close to even in terms of plus/minus, he filled in reasonably well. He’s got good size and provides good energy in that limited role.
Stats: 7 GP, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, -2 rating, 0 PIMS, 5 shots, 8:12 ATOI
Juraj Slafkovsky: 5.5/10
Entering into his third season in the league and after signing a massive offseason contract, the team expected Slafkovsky to step up his play. This just hasn’t happened. Despite getting prime minutes and power play time, Slafkovsky has been struggling to execute plays. At times his game seemed all out of whack as he’s caught way out of position and is making poor decisions with the puck. It’s gotten to the point that even the most forgiving coach in the league dropped him down to the fourth line briefly. But this should be a good wake-up call and I’m fully expecting Slafkovsky to bring much-improved play into the second quarter of the season.
Stats: 17 GP, 1 goal, 10 assists, 11 points, -4 rating, 6 PIMS, 22 shots, 17:25 ATOI
Oliver Kapanen: 5.4/10
With just two points in his first 12 games, it was not a stellar audition into the NHL for Kapanen. At times, he showed good hands such as his preseason goal against Ottawa when he knocked the puck into the net in mid-air. But during the regular season. he was a perimeter player without having much impact on the game. He was demoted to the SHL which will allow him more time to develop.
Stats: 12 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, -4 rating, 2 PIMS, 13 shots, 11:37 ATOI
Christian Dvorak: 4.4/10
It feels like a record on repeat, but Dvorak is on pace for 30 points, which is pretty much his career average. As we’ve seen throughout his time in Montreal, he has no chemistry with any of his linemates and has poor offensive instincts. Mercifully, this will be the last season for Dvorak and it can’t come soon enough. Moving him will be addition by subtraction and I expect everyone else’s performance to improve once he’s gone.
Stats: 20 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, -7 rating, 0 PIMS, 23 shots, 13:58 ATOI
Alex Newhook: 4.4/10
In by far the worst start in his NHL career, Newhook has struggled mightily. He’s been given top-six linemates and ice time, 2:14 minutes per game of power play time and has almost nothing to show for it. At a -11 rating, Newhook is trying to challenge Kirby Dach for league-worst in that category. Moving him around from wing to centre and back to wing with a constant variety of linemates can’t be helping. But at this point, Newhook needs to get back to basics, push the pace with his speed and forecheck like his ice-time depends on it. Because it does.
Stats: 20 GP, 4 goals, 0 assists, 4 points, -11 rating, 4 PIMS, 26 shots, 14:43 ATOI
Kirby Dach: 4.0/10
Despite all the negativity, Dach is actually on pace for 30 points which is right in line with his career average. Given his long absence from injury, this type of offensive production is actually pretty reasonable for him. What is disappointing is the lack of effort, poor positioning and the constant defensive lapses resulting in a league-worst -18 plus/minus! It was always a huge gamble that Habs management thought he could be a second line centre. There’s still potential that Dach could grow into that role but it’s looking less likely with him being moved onto the wing in recent games. While it wasn’t looked at as a good quarter, it wasn’t all the bad for Dach. I expect he’ll make significant improvements going into Q2. It still won’t be enough to justify a second line centre, but it’ll be a step in the right direction.
Stats: 20 GP, 1 goal, 7 assists, 8 points, -15 rating, 10 PIMS, 36 shots, 16:55 ATOI
