David Ettedgui: “Kirby Dach will be the Canadiens’ first long-term center”.

This lunchtime, we told you about David Ettedgui’s proposal/projection, which sees William Nylander on the first line of a 2027 Stanley Cup-winning Habs. This angle is interesting enough to analyze, but there’s a lot more to say about the line-up the analyst presented during his latest segment with Tony Marinaro on the Sick Podcast.

Nylander’s center, on that first unit, is Kirby Dach. Not Nick Suzuki, who is almost unanimously seen as the Habs’ long-term #1 center, but Dach.

Ettedgui mainly uses #77’s size to justify his position.

He offers Ryan Getzlaf (2007) and Bobby Smith (1989) as examples, ignoring the fact that the last #1 centers to win the Stanley Cup were Jack Eichel, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point and Ryan O’Reilly.

“He’s the whole package. You need a big guy at center on your first unit. You win the Stanley Cup with big center players. You need one to win the Cup.”

-David Ettedgui

You’d think he’d argue that Dach’s offensive ceiling will be superior to Suzuki’s, but that’s not even the case.

“I’m not saying Dach is going to score more points in a season than Suzuki. But he’s your big guy who’s going to put you 60 to 75 points a season, play the tough minutes, be a presence, complement two very talented wingers.”

-David Ettedgui

It’s hard to imagine how, in a world where Suzuki is equal to or better than Dach offensively and moons ahead of him in his own zone, he could be the Habs’ second center, isn’t it? In the big minutes, it’s a dominant player in both directions of the rink that you want to see on the ice in the most important role… Right?

On the other hand, it’s true that Dach is younger and we haven’t yet seen his real potential. We can understand why Ettedgui doesn’t give up, in his case.

“He’s 21 years old. In two years’ time, we’ll see the real Kirby Dach. I think he’ll be their first center forward then.”

-David Ettedgui.

Well, we have to respect the analyst’s opinion, since you never know what the future holds in the world of sports. However, it’s legitimate to wonder:

If Dach isn’t superior to Suzuki offensively, which is Ettedgui’s argument, would he really get the starting center job?

Dach is an excellent passer… But so is Suzuki! He’s more than capable of feeding his friend Cole Caufield, let’s hear it.

We’ll see… in 2027!

In a gust

– Today 5 years ago.

– Worth watching.

– Things are hopping in Germany!