Montreal Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak is set to miss the remainder of the 2023-24 NHL season due to a torn pectoral muscle, as confirmed by the team on Thursday. The 27-year-old center will undergo surgery to address the injury, a blow to the Canadiens who are no strangers to long-term player absences.
Dvorak’s absence will be felt across various facets of the game, particularly his prowess in left-handed face-offs, penalty killing abilities, and versatility on both power play and penalty kill units, as highlighted by Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “Monahan will have to kill a few more penalties, someone will have to take his place on the second power play,” St. Louis said. He added, “Monahan will have to go on the ice more for left-handed face-offs when they’re important. (Dvorak) is a guy who does more than one thing so we’ll have to replace him collectively.”
One has to wonder if this news changes how the Canadiens feel about trading Monahan, whose name has come up ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.
The Dvorak Injury Isn’t Good News for the Canadies
This injury marks another setback for the Canadiens, who have already navigated through several long-term injuries this season. Among them, a season-ending knee injury to young top-six forward Kirby Dach. Dvorak’s contributions this season, however, have fallen short of expectations, and he hasn’t proven to be the bona fide second-line center the Canadiens had envisioned when acquiring him.
Having played only 25 games this season, Dvorak’s points-per-game pace stands at 0.47, raising concerns about his potential as an everyday top-six forward in the NHL. The forward’s ice time dipped below the 16-minute average mark for the first time in five years, signaling challenges in his performance.
In the wake of Dvorak’s injury, the Canadiens face the task of reshuffling their lineup, with the potential need to recall a forward from AHL Laval to fill the void. Despite these challenges, the Canadiens maintain a 16-16-5 record and a sixth-place standing in the Atlantic Division.
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