Who does Kirby Dach think he is?

Remember that the qualifying offer submitted by the Canadiens guaranteed Kirby Dach $4 million for the 2026–27 season, before he becomes a unrestricted free agent.

What more did you want, Kirby? A pair of airplane slippers to go with that?

Kirby Dach's cap hit was $3.625 million over the past four years, but more importantly, the former Blackhawks first-round pick has played 58, 2, 57, and 37 games since he was acquired at great cost by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton.

It seems to me that if I were him, I would have simply said, “Thank you, Kent, thank you, Jeff, for being patient and continuing to believe in me despite my many injuries.”

But that's not what Kirby Dach did. Instead, he replied, “4 million? That's not enough; I want more than that. I'm worth more than that.”

Is that kind of response a generational thing?

Why?

Many of us have tried to find a logical explanation for this arbitration request. Some reporters covering the story have been quick to defend Dach's right to use this legal process, which is permitted under the collective bargaining agreement.

Renaud Lavoie, for his part, pointed out that Dach could sign for less than $4 million a year even though he turned down a qualifying offer of $4 million and asked for an arbitrator to review his contract.

It's not as if this arbitration request is going to convince Kent Hughes to offer a five-year contract to a player who struggles to stay healthy for more than six months.

Renaud even went so far as to mention a technicality that prevented Dach from accepting his qualifying offer.

We initially thought the qualifying offer presented to Dach was a two-part deal, meaning he could earn $105,000 if he were placed on waivers, claimed, and then assigned to the Rocket—but that's not the case. Even though he hasn't played 180 games over the past three seasons or appeared in 60 games in 2025–26, Dach cannot have an AHL salary lower than what he earned last season ($4 million). It's written in black and white in the CBA.

Some fans have suggested that Dach wanted a judge to award him a contract lasting more than one season—even just two—but that's impossible. Yes, a player can ask an arbitrator to impose a two-season contract… but that player cannot be just one year away from unrestricted free agency. Dach, however, will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in just under 12 months.

It would be funny if…

You know what would be funny? Seeing the independent arbitrator set Kirby Dach's annual salary at less than $4 million. Because yes, that's a real possibility!

The AFP Analytics website has tools to help estimate the value of an NHL player's next contract.

For Kirby Dach, their calculations come out to a $2.23 million contract—nearly half of the amount guaranteed by the Canadiens' qualifying offer.

Other mathematical models even go so far as to offer Dach as little as $1.675 million. Sure, after seasons with 22 points (in 57 games) and 15 points (in 37 games), you're not worth the moon.

Until proven otherwise, Kirby Dach hasn't followed in Ivan Demidov's footsteps—that is, agreeing to be part of something; he wants to be the something. And he's making a mistake!

When your biggest achievement in recent years is celebrating wins in a circle with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, you're seriously overestimating your worth, if you ask me…

I don't see how anyone can defend his decision in a completely neutral and objective way.

I can think of only one explanation this morning: Kirby Dach wants to leave Montreal.

And that's when I remember that two years ago, during a meeting with the Habs' management, Kirby Dach apparently blamed his wingers rather than taking responsibility for getting them to produce more.

Maybe he still sees himself as a top-six center—something the Canadiens no longer see in him for 1,001 reasons?

Except, Kirby, to play center on the second line, you have to be healthy, win your faceoffs, be solid defensively, and set up your wingers.

That's not what we've seen from you since you arrived in Montreal!

Logan Mailloux… Joshua Roy… Kirby Dach… I think we can put those three guys in the same category.