ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | MONTREAL, QC. — The Canadiens are giving fans entertaining hockey performances, as has been the case in many overtime thrillers this season. It’s clear that they are also playing above expectations, as I described in a previous article.
Many factors have contributed to this success. Namely, the Canadiens’ first line has had great success in recent weeks. Indeed, Nick Suzuki’s trio, centering Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach, has been extremely productive since the three players were brought together on October 29th.
Since then, Dach has put up three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 18 games. He notably scored the game-winning shootout goal in the Habs 3-2 win against his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Dach made sure to celebrate that goal by playfully taunting the Chicago crowd, who had been booing him for most of the game.
#Habs Kirby Dach seals the victory with shootout goal vs #Blackhawks @AllHabs @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/dLAyFeg3HK
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) November 25, 2022
Dach’s production and confidence is a good sign. It shows why the Canadiens were willing to trade Alexander Romanov, a third round pick and a fourth round pick to get him.
However, most of Dach’s points this season have been scored as a winger. Yet, Dach was acquired to be a centre. In fact, in an ideal situation, Dach would be the Habs second line centre behind Suzuki for the next couple of years.
This begs the question: should Kirby Dach continue to play as a winger on the first line where he is currently enjoying so much success or should he be returned to the centre position?
Centre qualities
Personally, I think two of Dach’s best qualities as a player are his vision and stick placement.
His passing skills were on display in early November, where he had three assists in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. One assist came from a beautiful cross-ice pass to Caufield.
#Habs Kirby Dach sets up Cole Caufield for goal vs #GoldenKnights
Assists: Dach, Edmundson@AllHabs @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/0Gjvuv8ZzS
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) November 5, 2022
Not a lot of players have the skill and patience to make this kind of play. Therefore, Dach clearly has the vision to be a good centre in the NHL.
Good stick placement is also an asset that a quality centre needs to have, and Dach clearly has it. In many instances, he took advantage of his long reach at opportune times. Using his stick, he was able to create a turnover and score a goal in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
#Habs Kirby Dach forces turnover and leads to goal vs #Canucks
Assists: JT Miller@AllHabs @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/z3phTtZNzv
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) November 10, 2022
Additionally, Dach’s six-foot-four frame allows him to protect the puck and win contested puck battles.
Finally, he is a strong defensive center who understands the extra responsibilities as a centre and is capable of performing that role well.
These qualities and strengths make Dach a good player and could lead him to be an excellent centre.
Reasons for doubt
That said, Dach is just 21-years-old and hasn’t mastered all of the skills necessary to be a second line centre in the NHL. There are reasons why he hasn’t had the same success when playing his natural position. It should be noted that the Canadiens don’t have a lot of elite wingers.
Brendan Gallagher, Joel Armia and Mike Hoffman are not bad players, but in a contending team, they wouldn’t play in the top-six. Josh Anderson has size, speed and a good shot, but his quality of play isn’t consistent. And Juraj Slafkovsky is still very young and needs more development before he regularly deserves top-six minutes.
Dach played well with Sean Monahan at the beginning of the season. The two were interchangeable at the centre position on the line. But Marty St. Louis was auditioning wingers to jumpstart the top line and stumbled upon the combination with Dach.
In other words, even if Dach had all the qualities to be a second-line centre, it would be hard for him to produce since he wouldn’t play with top wingers.
But, the reality is that Dach has not yet mastered one necessary skill as a centre: taking faceoffs. So far this season, Dach has taken 54 faceoffs and only won 37 percent of them. That ranks Dach 160th among centres who have played at least 15 games this season.
Prior to coming to Montreal, his ability to generate offence was in question. There are certainly signs he has found his offensive game along with a healthy dose of confidence. The key question is whether he can continue generating offence at the same rate if he returns to centre.
Limited alternatives
Considering these questions about Dach’s play at centre, should he remain at wing and continue to be successful?
It’s important to look at the alternatives on the roster for this season and the future. Until his injury, Sean Monahan have been having a very good season for the Canadiens and could potentially fill the role temporarily.
Keeping Monahan beyond the trade deadline doesn’t fit with a rebuild plan. I love what Monahan brings to the team but realistically the best course of action is to move him for additional assets in the next couple of months.
Christian Dvorak is another option but he isn’t doing enough to be considered a future second-line centre. On the contrary, he’s one of the players that Kent Hughes should try to trade in exchange for a pick or a prospect.
Finally there’s also Jake Evans who is a very good 200-foot player but doesn’t have the offensive skills to play in the top-six.
The Canadiens do have some talented young centre prospects like Owen Beck, Riley Kidney and Jan Mysak, but there’s no guarantee any of them can develop to become a second-line centre. Moreover, it will take probably take them a couple of years to reach their potential.
Choices to be made
This is far from a bad situation. Dach is a skilled player and has many qualities that could make him a very good centre.
If the Canadiens want him to play at center, the first line has to be split up. Will St. Louis make this decision for the long-term development of the club or prioritize keeping the top line together to win games?
For now, it’s likely a matter where the coach will try to have his cake and eat it too. While he lines up as a winger, Dach currently takes on some of the responsibilities of a centre while forechecking and backchecking as he is adept at switching roles with Suzuki.
Therefore it is not a matter of if but when Dach will be transitioned to become the second line centre. Once he masters faceoffs, he will be a much greater asset to the team. In the meantime Hughes is in the process of adding and developing top-six skilled wingers to play with him.
