Hockey

Kent Hughes admits it: Kirby Dach isn’t 100% at the moment
Félix Forget
Kent Hughes admits it: Kirby Dach isn’t 100% at the moment
Credit: Getty Images

When Kirby Dach arrived in Montreal, the plan was clear: to make him a top-6 center with the Habs. The club was already banking on Nick Suzuki, and they wanted Dach to fill the other chair on the top-6.Whether as a second center… or even as a first center, ahead of Suzuki.That said, Dach never really got established that way in Montreal for one simple reason: injuries. He suffered a major knee injury at the start of the 2023-24 season, and this past February, he suffered the same knee injury. Still, Dach will start the year in the Habs' active lineup… but in an interview with La Presse, Kent Hughes admitted that Dach isn't at the top of his game:

[Kirby Dach] won't be at 100% of his athletic potential.

–

Kent Hughes

The GM admits: coming back to 100% from such an injury takes a long time. He cites the example of Connor Brown, his former client, who needed 18 months before feeling 100% after suffering the same injury,and Dach last year, who clearly wasn't 100% at the start of the season (despite a full year of rehabilitation). If we take Brown's example, we can assume that it won't be until the start of the 2026-27 season (by which time it will have been 19 months) that Dach will feel 100% again.But despite everything, Hughes is clear: he wants to see Dach improve this season. In fact, he wants the center to improve in the “details” this season, which will help him be a much better player when he's back at 100%.And in an interview on TSN 690 this afternoon, the GM said he was encouraged by Dach's camp (and health).

If the club's practices are anything to go by, Dach will have a little less pressure on his shoulders as he won't be at Ivan Demidov's center. Instead, we'll see him with Zachary Bolduc and Brendan Gallagher, two guys who have doggedness and are capable of scoring goals.Let's see if this will be the right combination to bring out the best in Dach, who is very good at making plays… when healthy.

'Overtime'

– When you look at his stats, it seems.

– McDavid, Matthews and Tkachuk: three stars who play in Canada will be free as a bird in the summer of 2028.

– Indeed.

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