Hockey

Kent Hughes “hopes” Kirby Dach will be ready early in the season: it doesn’t look good
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Kent Hughes “hopes” Kirby Dach will be ready early in the season: it doesn’t look good
Credit: Getty Images

A few days ago, our colleague Maxime Truman mentioned that forward Kirby Dach had not yet recovered from the knee injury he suffered over the past few months. This left us wondering whether Dach would be available for the start of practice next month.Because whether he's available or not, it's a game-changer for the Habs. #TheFamousSecondCenterBut finally, it's the Canadiens' GM, Kent Hughes, who has provided an answer to the question of the center. And let's just say he doesn't sound the most confident of men, the GM.

We're hoping he'll be ready, either at the start of the season or at some point early in the fall.

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Kent Hughes on Kirby Dach

So not only is the GM unable to say he'll be 100% ready for camp, he's also unable to confirm that he'll start the season. He's “hoping” he'll be ready.This leads us to believe that, no, Dach hasn't recovered from his knee injury, has he?

The observation was made by Kent Hughes on the heels of an interview with NHL.com, which rounds up the league's 32 teams this summer. Adam Kimelman's articleeven suggests ways to restructure the center line if Dach can't start the season. Alex Newhook, unsurprisingly, is the prime candidate to move up to the top-6, so yes, there's plenty to worry about right now with Dach, who could not only start the season late, but will need time to build confidence in his knee. Remember, the center is at the end of his contract, eligible to become a restricted free agent in July 2026.

'Overtime'

– A new name for the Lightning arena.

– He'll be in demand.

– True.

– The neck guard issue is the talk of the town. [NYT] – Really?

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