BROSSARD, Que. — It’s been a lingering question, with the college season almost complete and Michael Hage appearing NHL-ready, and we’re not closer to having it answered.

Albeit not definitively. Because even if Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis showed an unexpected level of flexibility with his lineup for Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Florida Panthers, it’s impossible to say for sure what he’ll do with Hage if/when management signs the 21st-overall pick in the 2024 draft to an entry-level contract before the end of the regular season.

With four games remaining, the Canadiens are four points out of first place in the Eastern Conference and in a three-way tie for top spot in the Atlantic Division and St. Louis already said twice in the last 48 hours that the top priority is to win games and accomplish those goals.

But changes he made to Montreal’s lineup Tuesday made it clear it’s not the only priority.

That St. Louis made so many of them to test different players in different situations suggested he might be open to making more, and Hage could be his biggest one yet.

The dynamic, 19-year-old forward, who’s posted 26 goals and 85 points over 71 games spread over the last two years with the Michigan Wolverines, is headed to the Frozen Four. He could win a national championship Saturday, but he could also be available to the Canadiens by then if the Wolverines lose to the Denver Pioneers in the second semifinal on Thursday.

With playoff positioning and home-ice advantage still at play, it felt questionable St. Louis would pop Hage into his lineup for even one game before the end of the season — Hage would likely only be available for one if he plays in Saturday’s championship game — and that was still the case Tuesday morning.

The coach was asked then about changes and didn’t guarantee any of them, despite Joe Veleno’s unclear status for the game. He was also asked about what he’d like to see from the Canadiens’ second line and never gave any indication he intended on tweaking it.

Scratching Brendan Gallagher to get Kirby Dach back in after Dach missed 11 games with an upper-body injury wasn’t much of a surprise, but bringing Alex Texier in off his seven-game absence with a lower-body injury for Veleno (sick) and placing him in Oliver Kapanen’s place on Montreal’s second line was.

Kapanen, who has 22 goals this season, moved to the fourth line with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson, making it the first game he’d played away from Ivan Demidov this season.

The result was strong enough to suggest it won’t be the last one.

Texier did what Kapanen hasn’t been able to do as much of, making a new combination with Demidov particularly compelling.

St. Louis said earlier in the day that Texier’s ability to extend offensive-zone time and play in possession was key no matter where he slotted in.

And then he said after the game, over which Demidov was Montreal’s most threatening player opposite Texier, “When you extend and the other team gets a little tired, now (Demidov) gets a touch and he’s got a little bit of space, he’s tough to handle. We’ve got to get it to that, we’ve got to create more instances for him.”

Alex Newhook’s speed and versatility between Texier and Demidov — not to mention his improved faceoff percentage of late — made him a good fit to balance out the line.

But those are the elements that make Newhook a good fit anywhere in this lineup, potentially making way for Hage to step in and have a chance to showcase his ability from the place he’d fit best — with Texier and Demidov — for at least a game.

“I think (Hage is) a dynamic skater, really good hockey mind,” said Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson, who came out of college and jumped into NHL games in April of 2024.

“I think he’s just got a really high hockey IQ,” Hutson continued. “He competes and is a lot of fun to watch. Tons of skill.”

Throwing Hage in at this stage of the season still represents a difficult decision for St. Louis, though.

The coach will have many more to make before the Canadiens are through playing hockey this spring.

Take Veleno, for instance: He was missing for a valid reason Tuesday night, and now could find himself as a healthy scratch again before long, despite playing so well that St. Louis was praising him up and down Tuesday morning.

“He’s playing with some jam, and he’s playing with a lot of details defensively,” the coach said of the player who ranks third on the Canadiens in hits (149) and has been a key cog on an improved penalty kill of late.

“He’s been very noticeable, disruptive, and he’s been really good,” St. Louis added on Veleno.

If Gallagher hasn’t been as effective through the second half of this season, he still has a body of work in the playoffs that suggests he’ll be needed.

Scratching Gallagher for the odd regular-season game is one thing, but doing so for a playoff game is another. The 33-year-old has the most playoff experience of anyone on the team and he plays the brand of hockey that prevails at that time.

Kapanen, who’s played so mature that it’s easy to forget he’s a rookie, has yet to show he does.

Part of that is he has only three games of playoff experience.

The Finn has been a great complementary piece in the top six for most the season, though, and he has enough variety in his game to make him effective anywhere.

Still, St. Louis will have to watch Kapanen play more games in the bottom six and ask himself just how much more effective he’ll be than Veleno or Gallagher — not to mention Dach — in such a role come playoff time.

As St. Louis mentioned after Wednesday’s practice, he hasn’t had to weigh so many different factors in his decisions to date.

He must balance factors of age and experience with youth, talent and energy. He must consider roles of each of his players. He must also find ways to keep everyone engaged and prepared to give the Canadiens what they’ll need at any given moment.

“How do I do it?” St. Louis asked.

“I don’t know, but I’ll do my best doing it,” he responded.

There’s still time before the decisions he makes become that much more consequential, with the playoffs more than a week away.

How St. Louis made decisions Tuesday suggested he’s willing to experiment, though, for now. Even with playoff positioning and home-ice advantage still on the line.

That could open the door to Hage as soon as he’s available to play.