Montreal Canadiens News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Questions Surrounding Kirby Dach and The 2nd Line Centre Role

Originally posted on The Sick Podcast | By Nick Lariviere | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 11:45 AM ET

The biggest question heading into the Montreal Canadiens’ upcoming season is certainly who will be the team’s second-line centre. As it stands, Kirby Dach is slotted in to be in that role, but we now have news that Dach may miss the start of the season. With that being said, will the Canadiens find another solution? According to HFTV, it has been reported that Dach is still currently undergoing rehab for one of his latest knee injuries. Dach has been out since February 22nd , after undergoing his 2nd knee surgery in 2 seasons. At the age of 24 and in the final year of his four-year contract, Dach will be looking to bounce back after two nightmare seasons. If he somehow bounces back to the guy he was before his knee injuries, then the Canadiens will likely find the solution to their 2nd line centre problem. However, the more time goes the more it seems trusting Dach to be that guy cannot be a good solution. Luckily, they have Michael Hage that is looking like he can handle that role in 2-3 years, but a stopgap is needed, and Dach not being able to stay healthy is leaving a serious hole. Given that we are now hearing the timeline for Dach’s injury is 7-9 months, and it is only 5 months into his rehab, it seems unlikely that he will be in game shape by opening night on October 8th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Could the newly acquired Zachary Bolduc be the answer at centre? Photo Credits: Brett Holmes -Imagn Images

Therefore, the Canadiens should likely look at other internal options to centre Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov. The best option could be trying newly acquired Zachary Bolduc at centre at least to start the season, and see if he can be a centre at the NHL level. The one issue is that Bolduc has barely played centre since being drafted by the St. Louis Blues 17th overall in 2021. Nonetheless, he’ll likely get an audition in the preseason to see if he can be a centre at the NHL level. Aside from Bolduc, there are a few other options within the organization that they could look at. The first would likely be to run Newhook up the middle yet again to start the season. However, with the 2nd line struggling on most nights with Newhook at the centre, the team may choose to look at other options, which include the newly acquired Joe Veleno on a short-term basis. Veleno could prove to be a solid option if he can put it all together, but he seems more like a bottom-six centre as opposed to a top 6 guy. The Habs could also look to give one of Olivier Kapanen or Owen Beck a shot to play on the 2nd line to start the season if one of the two has a great training camp in September. Although both of these guys would likely need to play above their expected potential to do so.

Young Anaheim Ducks centre Mason McTavish continues to be linked to the Canadiens. Photo Credits: Getty Images

There is also still time to look at trade options before the season as well, but with the number of guys on the market, it will likely be an expensive price to get a potential 2nd line centre. One player the Canadiens could consider on the trade market who also fits their young core is Mason McTavish. If the current Anaheim Ducks RFA doesn’t agree to a deal soon, the rumours of him coming to Montreal will only grow. Other options, but aren’t very ideal for the team: Nazem Kadri (5 years left at age 33; not great for when Hage arrives, plus he is aging) and RFA Marco Rossi (small centre, likely not a guy the Habs see a fit with). As of now, we can only hope Dach recovers and gets back to the player he once was, but that doesn’t seem like a realistic scenario to start the season. It took Dach almost 40 games to get back to himself before re-injuring his knee yet again

This article first appeared on The Sick Podcast and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: