Adam Boqvist could become a Kirby Dach 2.0 for Kent Hughes

Kent Hughes has said it openly in recent weeks. The idea of a Kirby Dach-style trade in the next NHL draft is real.

The CH GM had taken advantage of the fact that the Hawks seemed to want to abandon the Dach project in order to pick up a young player with the potential to make the team in the long term.

With what we’ve seen from the center forward this season, we can already believe that Hughes has made a good move.

There are candidates like Dach all over the NHL. They’re not necessarily all easy to target, but let’s just say that the latest developments in Columbus are helping this search. Let me explain.

In the past week, the Blue Jackets have added two top-4 defensemen in Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. David Jiricek’s emergence in the AHL may give some people reason to believe that he’s ready to eat up big minutes in the National Hockey League, and the Jackets are also counting on Zach Werenski, giving them four good defensemen for the next few years.

These same Blue Jackets, it will be recalled, paid a hefty price to part with Seth Jones, but also to acquire Adam Boqvist, a young offensive defenseman selected eighth overall in the 2018 draft.

Jiricek’s emergence combined with the team’s recent acquisitions means Boqvist will have more limited playing time, limiting his development…

And this prompted Marco D’Amico (Montreal Hockey Now) to wonder if Boqvist could become the next Kirby Dach 2.0 in Montreal, an idea I particularly like.

Adam Boqvist will celebrate his 23rd birthday in August.

He’s young and has only played 15 games in the American Hockey League since the start of his career, which is an indication of his great talent.

I mentioned this earlier, but Boqvist is seen as an offensive defenseman. He’s got a good first pass, he’s a power-play specialist because he’s got great attacking skills (his hands are magic and his vision of the game is elite). But above all…

Adam Boqvist is right-handed.

The Habs boast a fine succession of defensemen in Guhle, Harris, Xhekaj, Hutson, Mailloux and Barron. But, apart from these last two, the CH does not have many right-handed defence prospects, and it’s this point that’s particularly interesting.

Adam Boqvist will probably never have the chance to shine in Columbus behind the top-4, which seems to be well stocked. In any case, the recent transactions and the hiring of Mike Babcock (which is not official at the moment, let’s not forget) seem to have put the rebuilding process behind us.

Circumstances are not conducive to Boqvist’s development. It’s a shame, because he scored 24 points in 46 games last year with the Blue Jackets, a very interesting performance for a young defenseman his age.

The scenario makes sense to me. The Habs would be sure to have two good young right-handed defensemen (Barron and Boqvist) while waiting for Logan Mailloux to make the jump to the NHL… And they could give the Swede plenty of playing time to develop.

Boqvist earns $2.6 million per season until the end of the 2024-2025 season. So his contract wouldn’t stand in the way of Kent Hughes…

In short.

Now we have to wonder what the Blue Jackets would seek in return for the services of the young defenseman who, once again, is a constant offensive threat.

In gusto

– A real one.

– It’s all for the best.

– Good point.

– Golden Knights, Stanley Cup champions tonight?

“It’s one win away from a lot of dreams for a lot of guys.”

Tonight the Golden Knights play for the Stanley Cup.

Story on @TheAthleticNHL⤵️https://t.co/UtzX7Nzny4

– Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 13, 2023

– The Coyotes have the tools to maneuver.