Canadiens Coach St-Louis’ Aware Of The Big Decisions He’ll Have To Make

On Thursday night, both captain Nick Suzuki and forward Kirby Dach were ready to return to action. Suzuki was always going to be added as soon as possible once he was ready. However, some felt bringing Dach in was a questionable decision given how well the youngster had played.

Martin St-Louis was ready to be challenged on it when he turned up in the conference room after the Montreal Canadiens’ win over the Utah Mammoth:

Those aren't easy decisions; Dach played excellent hockey, and I know I won't hit 1.000 with my decisions. But you know Dacher missed time because he was sick, and he was playing very good hockey when he fell ill. Beck and Flo didn’t deserve to come out of the lineup, but Dach didn’t deserve to miss time either. We have depth; we have players knocking at the door; decisions that aren’t easy. But when you look at where we are now and what we did last year, most of the group that played tonight took us to the conference final; we were 9-3-3 before the game. And our depth is giving us good hockey. The Beck, the Flo, so it keeps everyone alert. They aren’t easy decisions, but I try to make the best decisions I can.

Canadiens Win Thriller In Overtime
Canadiens: Tough Choices Had To Be Made And Will Be Made Again

Big Update By Dan Milstein: Demidov Back In A Few More Weeks Or So

As the coach said, he won’t bat for 1.000, but so far so good. The captain played his role admirably, scoring the Habs’ first goal and adding a pair of assists; of course, nobody would even think to leave him out of the lineup. But Dach’s insertion did ruffle some feathers; come puck drop, though, he was ready to prove his coach right.

We saw a more engaged Dach on the ice Thursday night; he brought pace and used his big body the way it should. He got the primary assist on Arber Xhekaj’s goal, scored a big power-play goal early in the third and provided the screen that led to Adam Engstrom’s game-tying lamplighter late in the third. He finished his night with a goal, an assist, a plus-two rating, two shots and one hit.

If Dach keeps playing that way, when Ivan Demov is ready to return, he may force Martin St-Louis to keep him in the lineup. Who then would get the chop? Oliver Kapanen for lack of production? Chris Kreider, who hasn’t been as efficient as was initially thought? Although he now has four points in his last five games. Tough decisions indeed, but it’s a good problem to have.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.