When should we start worrying about Kirby Dach’s fragility?

On Tuesday, the Canadiens faced the Senators with only three center players in the lineup.

The result?

Martin St-Louis’s team was steamrolled by one of the worst teams in the NHL this season. Things are looking up for the Sens lately… But the end result remains the same.

That’s when you realize that the injuries to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook are really, really hurting the team right now. Especially Dach’s, and that’s what I’d like to focus on today.

When you look at his injury history, that’s where it gets a bit worrying.

Shoulder separations and a broken collarbone, even before he joined the NHL…

A concussion at his first training camp with the Hawks…

A fractured wrist that caused him to miss several months of activity while in Chicago…

A lower-body injury and an upper-body injury that caused him to miss 24 games last season, his first in a Habs uniform…

Torn anterior and medial cruciate ligaments in his right knee at the start of the current campaign, which ended his season after only three and a half periods…

For now, we have to assume that Kirby Dach is a fragile player.

Does that explain why the Hawks decided to trade him, three years after selecting him third overall in the 2019 draft?

Remember that, at the time of the trade, we didn’t know why the Chicago outfit decided to abandon the young player’s development.

The club’s captain at the time, Jonathan Toews, shared his displeasure with the transaction:

Patrick Kane had also criticized his former club, saying that the Hawks “forced” Dach to make the jump to the NHL too quickly. Even Kirby was confused when he was in Chicago.

It’s a shame, because at 6 feet, 4 inches and 215 pounds… Dach has all the tools to be a more than dominant player in the big leagues.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews knew that.

The fact that right now, the Habs’ top two centers have collected more points this season than the Bruins’ top two centers (39 for Suzuki and 31 for Monahan) suggests that the Habs are heading in the right direction.

All in all, it’s an encouraging sign, especially since Dach is injured at the moment.

But really, it’s the fragility of the big center that’s causing (a lot of) concern right now.

Will he be able to return to 100% next season, after so many months of rehabilitation?

And if so, how many games will he be able to play when healthy?

The good news is that the Habs have parted ways with Alex Romanov to acquire Dach.

From the standpoint that there’s congestion on the left among defensemen, it makes my heart hurt a little less.

I really hope Kirby Dach can become the player he’s meant to be, because I like him a lot. I wish him success, but above all good health…

Because things are starting to get heavy for him.

In bursts

– Sick.

Patrick Roy who has to run! https://t.co/vkKVALk72d

– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) January 25, 2024

– Still!

– Ark.

– It makes sense.