AHL Bound: Canadiens 23-Year Old Kirby Dach Reaches All-Time Career Low
The verdict is in and it appears that the Chicago Blackhawks fleeced the Montreal Canadiens when they traded Kirby Dach back in 2022.
Prior to the deal, it became clear that Dach had his struggles with the Blackhawks as his productivity dwindled to nine goals and 17 assists or 70 games. It was also mentioned that he was unable to keep up or pair well with high caliber players like former Blackhawks forwards Alex Debrincat and Patrick Kane.
The decision was made and on July 7th, 2022, during the NHL Entry Draft, Dach was moved to the Canadiens in exchange for their 13th overall pick and a third-round pick. That pick became top Blackhawks prospect Frank Nazar.
Dach's numbers look brutal as he suffered several injuries early in his career but has not capitalized on the ice time and his skill set as he is well below where he should be.
This season has been quite awful as he has played 33 games and has scored only two goals with 7 assists for 9 points and is a -24.
He has had no points for his last five games and his ice time has been hovering between 12 and 13 minutes a game.
It's clear that general manager Kyle Davidson saw something in Dach that did not sit well and felt that they needed to move off from him which turned out to be the right decision. Nazar Has been working hard in the American Hockey League trying to get noticed and trying to get back to the Chicago lineup.
With the recent change of head coach to Anders Sorensen, he got his chance, and he was called up to play on the same team as Connor Bedard. He has yet to appear on the score sheet as he has played five games with the Blackhawks and has no points and is a - 2 with 13 minutes of ice time.
It remains to be seen on how long he will remain with the Blackhawks this season as he was expected to start bulging the twine and help with their offence. It's safe to say after the Christmas break if nothing changes, he will likely head back to Rockford to continue his development and increase his ice time back up to over 20 minutes a game.
No matter the case, the Blackhawks won this trade cleanly and the Montreal Canadiens will continue to try to find the answer to why Dach can't get going.
