Kirby Dach, who arrived in Montreal as a beacon of hope for the Canadian, is currently going through a real nightmare.
Announced as a key piece in the reconstruction project, the 23-year-old player struggles to justify the investment of the club, which sacrificed Alex Romanov (then a 13th choice overall) for his serves, finding himself in a spiral of counter- performance.
According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the time has come for Dach to move back down the lineup. Hopes for a glorious future alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield appear to be fading as his production remains limited to five points in 14 games, all capped off by the worst differential in the NHL at -13.
Upon his arrival, Dach was to become this much sought-after right-handed center, an ideal complement to support Suzuki and Caufield.
But after a season spoiled by a serious knee injury, he was unable to regain his level. Martin St-Louis repositioned him on the wing of the first trio to try to revive him, but the results were slow to come, and his performance even seemed to slow down the effectiveness of the trio.
Lavoie was scathing:
“To get by, he will have to play on a third line. It’s not against Kirby Dach, but in the current situation, Kirby Dach can’t play on a first line, Kirby Dach can’t play on a second line. »
This observation is enough to alarm the supporters. The trade to get Dach, which cost the 13th pick in 2022, was a risky gamble by Kent Hughes.
And now, with Dach looking more fragile than ever, that gamble is starting to look like a costly mistake.
Instead of this choice, the Canadian could have selected Jonathan Lekkerimäki, a Swedish talent who is currently shining in the Canucks farm club and is developing into an elite forward.
This regret intensifies as Lekkerimäki, named best junior player in the SHL last season (Swedish elite league), progresses at lightning speed.
While Lekkerimäki racks up the points and accolades, Dach struggles to find his identity on the ice.
Faced with the current situation, the solution envisaged for Dach is hard to accept.
Lavoie suggests applying the “Joel Armia method” to him: demoting him to a third line to lighten his responsibilities, exposing him to less formidable opponents in order to give him back some confidence.
“He’s going to have to assert himself elsewhere. Not that we want to hide it, but he will play against players who are a little more permissive”added Lavoie on TVA Sports.
This approach, far from being a promotion, seems closer to a desperate attempt to prevent Dach from going under forever.
For a player who was supposed to embody the future, it’s a hard blow. This repositioning, which was intended to be temporary, could quickly become permanent if Dach fails to turn things around.
His fragile knee and his inconsistent performances remind Montreal fans of the concerns raised in Chicago before his departure: whether Dach would be a player “made of porcelain”, incapable of withstanding the rigors of the NHL and above all, a slow, nonchalant, lazy player .
Meanwhile, Jonathan Lekkerimäki continues to dazzle the AHL, racking up accolades and points, proving he could have been one of the organization’s jewels.
His success in Sweden cruelly underlines Dach’s lack of success and reinforces the criticism of Kent Hughes.
This choice of Dach instead of Lekkerimäki now appears to be a calculation error. The latter, blessed with exceptional game vision and blazing speed, was Hughes’ initial choice when he obtained the 13th overall pick for Alex Romanov, before Dach became an enticing, but dud, option.
The fans, who see Lekkerimäki on fire, wonder if the choice to sacrifice the 13th pick for Dach was not a serious mistake.
With Lekkerimäki piling up the honors and destined for a bright future, fans’ impatience is only increasing.
Some go so far as to see this transaction as one of Hughes’ biggest mistakes since his arrival as general manager.
For now, Dach finds himself in a bind. If the demotion works and allows him to regain his confidence, it will only dampen expectations.
But if it fails, it risks permanently marking it as an aborted development choice. Dach’s current situation illustrates the complexity of rebuilding a team.
Sometimes bets don’t pay off, and for the Montreal Canadiens, this choice could well become the symbol of a long-term strategy failure.
Canadiens fans have never been so angry. Those who had hoped that Kirby Dach would embody a new era find themselves with a player who can neither meet expectations nor justify the cost of his acquisition on the transaction market.
That frustration grows as Lekkerimäki shines in the Canucks organization, leaving Montreal fans wondering what the team would have been like with this Swedish gem.
For Dach, there is only one option left: to prove that it is not too late for him, because for the supporters, patience is now running out.
He will have to prove himself…on the 3rd line…
