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Frank Nazar (drafted with Kirby Dach trade pick) dominates

 Jonathan Di Gregorio
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Frank Nazar (drafted with Kirby Dach trade pick) dominates
Credit: Frank Nazar is off to a good start in the AHL, with 24 points in 20 games. His production ranks him first among rookies and fifth in the AHL. Why am I talking about Nazar? He’s the player the Chicago Blackhawks selected with one of the two 2022 draft picks, thirteenth overall, that the Canadiens […]
Frank Nazar is off to a good start in the AHL, with 24 points in 20 games. His production ranks him first among rookies and fifth in the AHL.

Why am I talking about Nazar? He’s the player the Chicago Blackhawks selected with one of the two 2022 draft picks, thirteenth overall, that the Canadiens gave up for Kirby Dach.

This pick was obtained from the New York Islanders in return for defenseman Aleksandr Romanov and the Habs’ fourth-round pick, the 98th, which became defenseman Isaiah George.

The second was a third-round pick, 66th overall, with which Chicago drafted forward Gavin Hayes.

So, to sum up, the Canadiens gave away Romanov (or a 13th-round pick, depending on your point of view), a third-round pick and a fourth-round pick to acquire Dach.

It’s a high price to pay, especially since the big forward is having a difficult, not to say disastrous, season. In 27 games, he has just one goal for a meagre total of eight points and a minus-21 rating. Ouch!

For the man we were sold during the off-season as the team’s second established center, this is rather disappointing.

Yes, Dach is coming off a lengthy injury, and Patrik Laine’s injury forced him to play part of the season with allies who aren’t top-six material (not to mention Alex Newhook, who’s also having a tough season).

However, after three games since Laine’s return, Dach has no points on his record playing with the Finn.

And meanwhile, Romanov is doing a fine job defensively with the Islanders, playing an average of 21:35 minutes per game on the first pair of defensemen. The kind of defenseman the Canadiens could really use right now.

Although the trade made sense from a rebuilding point of view, it’s not really Kent Hughes’ best move yet. On the other hand, if Frank Nazar becomes a star player in the NHL, it’s a trade that could also hurt us in the long run.

But that’s all hypothetical. A good start in the AHL is absolutely no guarantee of a good career on the National Line.

What’s more, I think we need to be patient with Dach. It’s not easy to recover from a double ligament tear in the knee, and we have to give him time to find his beat and hope he returns to the same level of play as before his injury.


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