Kirby Dach is Back Skating in Montreal!

Unfortunately, the reality is we can now longer expect Dach to be the player he was on the verge of becoming before he had his two knee surgeries. If last year gave us any indication of how long it takes to recover from knee surgery, we are in for a long road with Dach struggling to find his game for around the first 2 months of the season. I wish that I could be as optimistic about Dach as I am about other Habs this upcoming season, but sadly, I just imagine him staying healthy long enough to find his game. 

The fact that he has not had a healthy season in the last 5 years, since his rookie season, just shows me that while he’s been incredibly unlucky, he isn’t a player that you can give a big role to anymore. 

Although sometimes having no expectations for a player can help the player find his game, because there will be no pressure to perform the way that he used to play. Look at how Brendan Gallagher looked like his best years were behind him, and then he got pushed lower in the lineup and found his second legs that led him back to being a reliable 20-goal scorer with less ice time. 

Unfortunately, Gallagher wasn’t playing for another contract the way that Dach is this year. So for Dach, there is still a lot of pressure, even if the expectations that were there previously are gone from most Habs fans. He will still have pressure to turn things around to get a guaranteed NHL contract. It would be nice for him if he somehow found that game. 

The Fantasy Hockey guys at NHL.com do see Kirby Dach recording a career-high 42 points, and if he does stay healthy, it’s possible he could get up to that level of production if he can finally play a full season, as it really seemed he was finding his play again after 25 games last year. Sadly, his past injury history makes it seem like he will always get hurt one way or another every season that he plays, since breaking his wrist during a pre-tournament game in the 2021 World Juniors with Canada. 

Former Habs star defenseman Andrei Markov had a long run of knee injuries in the middle of his prime, and he came back to be a very effective player. However, unlike Dach, his game did not revolve around a speed game but more so around using his hockey brain to make elite passes as a power-play quarterback. Therefore, Markov never lost his best abilities from his knee injuries. Dach, on the other hand, has likely lost a huge part of his game long-term. 

It will be interesting to see if Dach can learn to play a different style of game without the speed and power forward style that he has always played, which led to all these injuries.

Hopefully, Dach can figure things out, but through his style of play and his overall injury history, the odds are not looking good. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s limited to under 50 games this year due to another injury. 

Do you see Kirby Dach finding a way to stay healthy, or will he be back on the injury reserve once again?