It's Alex Galchenyuk versus Jonathan Drouin, as the two forwards will battle it out for the job as top center with the Montreal Canadiens next season.

While there was some uncertainty that Galchenyuk would be back in the fold, the restricted free agent agreed to a three-year extension with the Canadiens on Wednesday.

He'll have a few new teammates in Montreal, most notably Drouin, after the Canadiens acquired the Quebec-born forward from the Tampa Bay Lightning in June.

In their relatively short NHL careers, Galchenyuk and Drouin have both split time between the wing and the dot, and the similarities don't end there. Both players are former third overall picks, with the Lightning drafting Drouin in that spot in 2013, one year after the Canadiens did the same with Galchenyuk.

So far, Drouin has appeared in 164 games, notching 29 goals and 66 assists. As for Galchenyuk, who made the jump to the NHL in 2012-13, he's skated in more than double that amount of contests, with 336 under his belt. He's recorded 89 goals and 115 assists in that time.

Galchenyuk scored a career-high 30 goals in 2015-16, while Drouin's best year came last season with the Lightning when he tallied 53 points, good for third on the team.

Still, despite their respective offensive successes, both players have failed to grab a hold of the center position at the NHL level, with both struggling mightily in the faceoff circle.

Drouin did not become a regular center until last season, and he won just 96 of his 220 draws, or just under 44 percent. As for Galchenyuk, he's taken nearly 1,400 faceoffs combined over the past two seasons, but his 2016-17 finish fell more than five points from the previous campaign, as he slid to 42.7 percent.

Galchenyuk appeared in 61 games last season, and was off to a torrid start with former Canadiens coach Michel Therrien regularly using him as a center. Prior to suffering a knee injury in early December, he'd recorded 23 points in 25 games. However, upon his return, new bench boss Claude Julien used Galchenyuk more often as a winger.

Drouin was in search of a fresh start of his own. While he appeared to have mended fences in Tampa Bay, the Lightning were ready to move on from a player who originally requested a trade in January 2016.

So, what do you say? Does the job as the top center for hockey's most historic franchise belong to Galchenyuk, or should he shift to the side in favor of the new face in Drouin?

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