One of the Canadiens’ biggest offseason additions is staying in Montreal.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms with forward Kirby Dach on a four-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $3.3625 million.
The deal, which ties Dach to Montreal through the 2025-26 season, also ensures that the young forward retains his status as an RFA upon expiry.
Dach, the third overall pick in the 2019 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks and still a budding star, is now joining a Canadiens organization currently doing everything to stockpile talent this summer in the hopes of erasing a disastrous 2021-22 season.
Dach is a work in progress, still. The 21-year-old scored just nine goals and 26 points in 70 games for the Blackhawks last season and has clearly struggled to establish himself at the NHL level to this point.
The potential is what is so tantalizing here, at the end of the day, as Dach has a tremendous skillset and is precisely the type of player to take a major leap after a strong offseason of training and some guidance from Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis.
If Dach does come even close to the ceiling that some predicted he had as a prospect, this deal will end up looking like a steal. The $3.3625 annual price tag is low enough to temper expectations, while the four-year term allows the Canadiens to be patient with his development and give him plenty of runway upon which to improve.
Not a bad move at all from Habs GM Kent Hughes.
