Habs officially have their number one center!

Perhaps the most well-documented issue plaguing the Montreal Canadiens since the 1990s is that of the number one center position.

When the organization drafted Alex Galchenyuk 3^rd overall in 2012, it was expected that he would be the answer to this age-old question. Drafted as a big and skilled center, the kid never quite won the favour of his coaches.

Tried on several occasions at center, Galchenyuk could never put things together on a consistent basis and create the chemistry needed to cement his spot as the team’s number one man.

Fast forward 5 years later and the now winger has been shuffled from line to line, trying to find the right fit in the lineup.

Meanwhile, Marc Bergevin has been at his wit’s end over the years answering the very same “age-old question” – with the answer always being that these centers don’t exist on the trade market; no one gives them away. They must be drafted and developed.

Outside of Galchenyuk, the Canadiens haven’t been able to draft a high-end forward since Bergevin came aboard.

That all changed with the selection of Mikhail Sergachev in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

The Russian rearguard is touted as a future Norris Trophy winner, and was expected to be Andrei Markov’s successor on the blue line. But as we know, Marc Bergevin traded the blue-chip prospect to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for budding Francophone star Jonathan Drouin.

This trade was a win-win for both teams. Tampa got the defenseman they needed and Montreal got the elite Quebec-born star they’ve been craving for years.

But Montreal got something else in that trade – a number one, likely franchise centerman.

Drouin has been an elite presence in this pre-season, showing flashes of that high-end vision and skill that he possesses in each game. He’s already shown how dangerous he is along the half-wall on the power play, and has racked up several points. He most recently put up 3 assists against the Ottawa Senators in the team’s final pre-season matchup, an absolute shellacking with a final score of 9-2.

"I see a player who’s certainly capable of playing centre," said coach Claude Julien following the win to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. "He’s a centre that will support the puck everywhere on the ice and in our zone. I think he respects all the aspects of playing centre a lot, and he’s gotten better at the position with every passing moment, in every game, but also in every practice."

These are echoes of Marc Bergevin’s comments a couple days ago, who also has been very satisfied with his prized acquisition in the center role.