Canadiens Open Camp With Kreider Beside Suzuki and Caufield

Chris Kreider took his first strides as a Montreal Canadien on Thursday in Brossard, and he took them next to Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Martin St. Louis would rather nobody read much into Day 1 combinations, but that top line looked like a decision rather than an experiment. Kreider has spent a career as a complement instead of a driver, most notably in 2021-22, when he scored 52 goals with the New York Rangers alongside Mika Zibanejad. He had 22 goals and 50 points last season with the Anaheim Ducks, mostly with Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry.

"Obviously, he's got everything," Caufield said after the trio's first practice. "He's heavy, wins a lot of battles, good in front, helps our team depth-wise, too. And obviously, he has that experience, too. I think he's played everywhere in the lineup, and he can help Nick and I out."

Suzuki is coming off a 101-point season and the Selke Trophy. Caufield scored 51 goals.

St. Louis also put Juraj Slafkovsky back with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, the group that spent close to half of last season as Montreal's second line and outscored opponents 25-18 across roughly 364 five-on-five minutes together.

"I think everyone knows his role and just being in the exact spot that the other guy wants him to be," Demidov said.

Demidov, 20, led all rookies with 62 points. Kapanen, 23, scored 22 goals and 39 points in his first NHL season but faded late, admitting the grind of an 82-game schedule compressed by the Olympics wore him down by April.

"The end of last year wasn't what I wanted, but I feel like I had a good year if I don't take those couple last months into it," Kapanen said.

Further down, Brett Berard skated with Alex Newhook and Jake Evans, with Zachary Bolduc, Alex Texier and Kirby Dach all in the mix for third-line work. Florian Xhekaj practised on the fourth line with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson.