Kirby Dach's name is back in the rumor mill, and this time it's Elliotte Friedman putting a flag on it for the Montreal Canadiens.
Friedman dropped the line in his 32 Thoughts column Monday, saying the Canadiens roster "could be very different very quickly" with a lot of moving parts still in play.
Then he went further, specifically pointing at Dach and wondering out loud where the 25 year old center actually fits as Montreal keeps stacking the middle of its lineup.
That's not a throwaway line from a guy who gets things right more than most in this business.
Dach carries a cap hit of 3,362,500 dollars, which is not the problem. The production is.
He played 37 games last season, scoring 8 goals with 7 assists for 15 points and a minus-2 rating. Respectable, not loud.
His recent form is the real issue. Over his last 10 games he has 1 point and sits at minus-5, and over his last 5 he has been held off the scoresheet entirely, going minus-4.
Canadiens' crowded middle six leaves Dach searching for minutes
The playoff run gave him a spotlight. Dach put up 4 goals and 5 points across 19 playoff games as Montreal knocked off Tampa Bay and then Buffalo before Carolina ended the ride.
But that spring flash doesn't erase the traffic jam up the middle now. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook are all fighting for the same real estate as Dach.
Kent Hughes has not stopped adding pieces to this roster, and Friedman's read is that the moves keep coming. Every addition squeezes the space Dach needs to matter.
Here's the uncomfortable part for Montreal fans. A center who battled injuries earlier over his NHL career and now can't find the score sheet is exactly the type of player front offices move on from when the depth chart gets crowded.
Martin St-Louis has options now that he didn't have two years ago, and that is not always good news if you're the guy on the bubble.
Friedman didn't say Dach gets traded. He said he wonders. In this league, that's usually how the real ones start.
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Should the Canadiens trade Kirby Dach before the season starts?
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