The main debate among the Montreal Canadiens was whether Jonathan Drouin could excel at playing centre. The 23-year-old had never played down the middle professionally, but it was an interesting experiment to pursue. Drouin also drove a lot of offence on the wing in Tampa, and his comfort with skating with the puck made imagining him at centre an optimistic daydream.
Drouin was the team’s top line centre for the majority of the season, save for one game, that saw some bright and dark spots. Many quickly set their opinion on whether he could be a long-term centre option for the Montreal Canadiens.