There are two kinds of solutions in hockey: the ones you plan years in advance, and the ones you reach for when the clock is ticking and the roster won’t stop reminding you what it lacks.

Montreal has spent months staring at the same problem, asking the same question, debating the same fix for the same hole in the lineup. You know the one.

It’s the conversation that starts before warmups and outlasts postgame scrums, the ritual that’s become as reliable as the anthem: who, exactly, is going to play second-line center—and when does the pursuit become more costly than the position itself? The answer used to feel binary.

Either you pry a bona fide 2C loose from a rival with a king’s ransom, or you wait and hope your pipeline delivers right on schedule. But what if the solution everyone dismissed as too simple, too modest, too temporary is the one that actually fits?

A whisper from BPM Sports, an echo on DansLesCoulisses, a nudge disguised as a joke from “Mario” that sure sounds like Marco D’Amico—suddenly the temperature changes.

The Canadiens aren’t recoiling from a band-aid; they might be walking toward it on purpose. You can scoff at the label, but think carefully about what it implies: controlled risk, stabilizing intent, defined shelf life.

It doesn’t ask you to fall in love with a player for five years; it asks you to buy the team time while your future learns to breathe at full speed. And if the future’s name is Michael Hage, then every shift you don’t rush him is an investment you won’t regret later.

What’s more revealing than the concept are the names that keep surfacing. They aren’t unicorns; they’re grownups with habits you can trust in November and still appreciate in April. Kadri’s edge, Danault’s conscience, Zacha’s quiet center of gravity—the tape says different things about each, but the subtext is identical: they don’t have to change who Suzuki is, only sharpen the load he carries and the matchups he draws. And if Tage Thompson represents the fantasy—a towering, long-term solution at a price that never materializes—maybe the smartest play is to stop chasing fiction and start valuing timelines.

There’s a reason this approach unsettles people. Band-aids are supposed to be for minor cuts; second-line center sounds like surgery. But look closely at the construction of this roster, the age curve, the contract map, the runway for the next wave.

The urgency is real, yes—but it isn’t panic. It’s calibration. A short-term fix doesn’t announce surrender; it signals discipline. It says the team understands the difference between momentum and impatience, between pushing and overreaching. And—if you’re willing to consider it—it suggests management sees something in Hage that makes waiting not just palatable, but prudent.

So what would the band-aid look like in practice? How do you buy time without burning assets, and why might one name fit better than the rest right now? More importantly, what quiet advantages does a veteran 2C unlock for the power play, for line matching, for the development curve of the players who will matter most two springs from now?

The answers aren’t written on the whiteboard in bold marker. They hide in deployment patterns, contract structures, and the kinds of trade calls that start as hypotheticals and end as opportunity. If you think a temporary solution can’t change a season’s trajectory, you might be underestimating what the right fit, at the right moment, can do—especially when the organization’s real bet is on a name not quite ready to cross the bridge.

Canadiens Head Coach Martin St-Louis and GM Kent Hughes

Photo credit: NHL

For months, the Montreal Canadiens’ quest to find a true second-line center has sparked endless discussion.

But according to the latest comments from BPM Sports, Habs management might not be against the idea of going with a short-term solution.

I have to admit-I’m part of it too… In Montreal, the debate about that famous second-line center has become a real ritual, almost a daily one.

Everyone knows it: it’s the team’s biggest need.

But that kind of player isn’t easy to find-especially in a league where many teams are looking for the same type of profile.

As Félix Forget of DansLesCoulisses reported, the Canadiens are not closing the door on a temporary solution-or as Marco D’Amico (disguised as Mario) put it, a “band-aid second-line center.”

I really like that expression!

The Montreal Canadiens open to a “band-aid” solution while waiting for Michael Hage

The concept is quite simple: find a player capable of filling that role on a transitional basis, until a young player like Michael Hage is ready to make the jump.

According to D’Amico, the Habs aren’t opposed. They know that a long-term, established player like Tage Thompson is practically unattainable right now-especially at a reasonable price.

That’s why the organization isn’t ruling out bringing in a veteran who can stabilize the team without necessarily being there for five years.

Names like Pavel Zacha, Nazem Kadri, or even Phillip Danault have come up in discussions, each offering valuable experience to support Nick Suzuki.

“The CH wouldn’t be against the idea of going after a band-aid as a second center. For me, Zacha would be a better fit!”

– Marco D’Amico

I have to say, this approach makes a lot of sense to me.

I wouldn’t be against it at all!

And honestly, if the organization sees Michael Hage as the future second-line center, he needs to be given time to develop.