Canadiens Lineup Analysis: Five Line Options Including Kreider
· Yahoo Sports
The Montreal Canadiens faced a relatively difficult situation prior to signing veteran forward Chris Kreider.
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While the organization was highly interested in acquiring an impact player, it also wanted to avoid surrendering significant assets in a trade for a middling forward. A long-term contract for a veteran was likewise off the table.
Kreider’s mutual contract termination with the Anaheim Ducks therefore not only gave the 35-year-old a chance to join a stronger team, but also provided the Canadiens with an unexpected solution to their forward dilemma, adding meaningful depth and a veteran presence.
Before examining the projected lines, a few caveats are in order. Some of the players listed below are not locked into their ideal positions. Zachary Bolduc, for instance, can play both left and right wing. At centre, the team has a clear surplus of depth options. Given that Jake Evans and Phillip Danault are both defensively responsible, it is difficult to project a lineup in which Kirby Dach occupies a critical role as a pivot. There remains a chance he will markedly improve his face-off percentage and once again become a reliable centre capable of handling important minutes; realistically, however, he is more likely to end up on the wing.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some possible forward lines now that Kreider is in the mix.
Montreal Canadiens Forward Options With Kreider
The most straightforward option would be to slot Kreider on the second line alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov. While Demidov and Kapanen scored plenty of goals last season, their underlying numbers were concerning, to say the least. Kreider, by contrast, consistently produces solid underlying statistics.
Although he is no longer the pure speedster who entered the league in 2011, he still has enough speed to keep pace with Kapanen and Demidov. He would also provide a valuable veteran presence for the team’s youngest duo.
The main drawback of this setup is that it demotes Alexandre Texier to the fourth line, significantly diminishing his impact. It would also leave Alex Newhook skating with two players who no longer contribute meaningfully offensively.
Bottom Six Shuffle
If the Canadiens want to bolster their third line, promoting Texier and moving Newhook to centre would significantly strengthen the top nine.
In this scenario, Bolduc would also earn a promotion, while Josh Anderson joins Jake Evans and Phillip Danault on the fourth line. That unit could serve as Montreal’s premier shutdown combination, featuring two centres capable of winning faceoffs on either side of the ice.
Head coach Martin St-Louis would likely limit the third line’s faceoff responsibilities, given that Newhook has won just 42.5% of his career draws. He could mitigate the risk by deploying them mostly on the fly.
Top Nine Strength
If the Canadiens hope to keep Kreider fresh by carefully managing his ice time, placing him on the third line would be an ideal solution, provided those minutes are supplemented with power-play usage.
Texier posted very solid numbers in the top six last season and was one of the few players who maintained strong production alongside both Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, as well as with Demidov and Kapanen. That versatility makes him a viable option heading into the 2026-27 season.
Second Line Evolution
While Kapanen and Demidov accounted for the majority of the goals last season, they struggled to control the shot share, scoring chances, and expected goals at 5v5. Goals ultimately decide hockey games, of course, but the underlying numbers suggest that St-Louis would be well served by considering a breakup of the Demidov-Kapanen duo.
In this scenario, both Kreider and Newhook would play in the top six, while Kapanen shifts down to the fourth line, where the defensive responsibilities would be far less demanding than they are in the top six.
Spreading The Wealth
Similar to the third option, this would place Texier in the top six while Kapanen and Kreider slot into the third line. From the coach’s perspective, this may be the best way to spread the available talent throughout the lineup while still maintaining a solid shutdown trio on the fourth line.
Wild Card
We assume St-Louis will keep the Suzuki-Slafkovsky-Caufield trio together, and for good reason. Few other lines in the NHL control as many shots, goals, and scoring chances. The Habs finally have a dominant top line and should avoid messing with success.
That said, there’s always a possibility he could break them up to promote either Kreider or Demidov to the top line. At first glance, this is the most chaotic option available to St-Louis. But stepping back, it also reveals that he now has a genuine range of options, something that simply wasn’t the case during the early years of the rebuild.
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