The Montreal Canadiens hunt for star center already has an answer

One idea circulating this week framed Wright as the move that finally solves Montreal's second-line center problem, while admitting a fair trade price is still unclear.

That framing skips over what already happened in 2025-26. Oliver Kapanen spent most of the season centering Demidov's line, and it worked well.

Kapanen finished with 22 goals and 37 points as a rookie, third among all first-year skaters in goals.

Demidov, playing beside him, led every rookie in the league with 62 points and became a Calder Trophy finalist.

Martin St-Louis trusted Kapanen there from October through a run to the Eastern Conference Final, not as a placeholder but as the plan.

Wright is 22, still talented, and coming off a rough 12-goal, 27-point season in a middle-six role in Seattle.

Adding him would not fill an empty roster spot, it would mean displacing a center who just helped produce a Calder finalist.

Montreal also just signed Demidov to an eight-year extension, a clear signal the front office trusts the current setup.

Seattle finished with 79 points under new GM Jason Botterill, and a center reset there could make Wright available.

The Canadiens could still pursue him as insurance behind Kapanen, given his size, draft pedigree, and age.

But framing this as Montreal missing a piece misreads a team that already found one internally, tested it for 82 games and a playoff run, and just paid to keep it together.

Also read on House Of Hockey :
Three-way trade involving Leo Carlsson gains steam after proposal goes viral online