Two years ago, during the 2022 offseason, the Chicago Blackhawks decided they would trade former third overall pick Kirby Dach to the Montreal Canadiens. At the time, this was one of many questionable decisions in breaking down the team.
Dach, who had played parts of three seasons in Chicago up to that point, wasn’t overly impressive, but trading a young player, especially one picked so high in the draft, is a risky move. The Blackhawks received a 13th overall pick in 2022 and a 66th overall pick in 2022. With those selections, Chicago drafted Frank Nazar and Gavin Hayes.
This is now the third season in which Dach has been a Canadian, so quite a bit of time has passed to judge whether the trade was smart or will come back and haunt the Blackhawks. Considering Dach’s progress and his tendency to get injured, it’s the former.
Dach played 152 games for Chicago before being traded, scoring 19 goals and 59 points. Sometimes he looked good, but not good enough. Although his highest total in Chicago came from his third and final season with the team, his rookie season at age 19 was the most impressive.
Once Dach was dealt to Montreal, he seemed to have broken out immediately, posting a career-high 14 goals and 38 points in just 58 games. This was another season that could have been more if he was fully healthy.
Unfortunately for Dach and the Canadiens, he only played two games last year due to injury and hasn’t been the same player coming back this season. After 22 games, he has one goal, eight points and is ranked low on the team -18. That’s also the Canadiens’ last by a wide margin.
While part of the reason why Chicago left Dach could be due to his issues staying healthy, either way it has played a huge role in his young career thus far. Getting in and out of the lineup is difficult, especially during growing years when development is crucial and he’s rehabbing as much as he’s playing.
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An argument could be made that the Blackhawks need center help now, but how much would Dach actually help their situation? Once again, he is -18 and plays on the Canadiens’ third line with just one goal. He wouldn’t help the lack of goals the Blackhawks are dealing with and while he’s a center piece, he wouldn’t actually be an upgrade.
Nazar, who the Blackhawks drafted with that first-round pick returned in the Dach trade, looks good and will be back in the NHL sooner or later. He wants to be a top-6 center for Chicago and performed well last season in his three-game stint after leaving the NCAA.
At this point, the Blackhawks appear to have won the trade and made the right decision in moving on from Dach so early in his career. There’s still a lot of runway to go, but Dach doesn’t measure up to where he was drafted and if he’s out of the lineup as much as he is in, that’s a burden.
The Blackhawks’ future looks bright with Nazar in, but Dach’s future is more unclear.
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