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Remember when Canadiens general manger Marc Bergevin addressed the media early this year and admitted that, in a perfect world, Jonathan Drouin would be a winger?

With the Canadiens’ chances of making the playoffs disappearing into a black hole — they would have to win 22 of their remaining 27 games to have a chance — the team should embrace the opportunity to test that theory.

After 50 games with the Canadiens, it’s obvious that Drouin is not a centre. His inability to win faceoffs means that he and his linemates spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to play defence. While plus-minus ratings aren’t always a true reflection of a player’s performance, there’s a reason why Drouin is minus-26 and linemate Alex Galchenyuk is minus-27.

Until recently, head coach Claude Julien didn’t have many options. After conceding that the team might have made a mistake by putting Drouin in the middle, there was no rush to admit that it might have been a mistake to give up on Galchenyuk at that position. Injuries to Phillip Danault and part-time centre Andrew Shaw further limited the juggling Julien could do as the Canadiens tried to stay afloat.