One of the reasons why the Montreal Canadiens’ rebuild has been a success so far is that management hasn’t been afraid to admit when it was wrong. For instance, when Kent Hughes traded Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche, the hope was that Justin Barron would become the ever-elusive puck-moving right-shot defenseman. Two and a half seasons later, it wasn’t happening, so the Jeff Gorton and Hughes duo decided it was time to move on. They sent Barron to Nashville for Alexandre Carrier, who became a stabilizing presence on the blueline.
When Montreal traded a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and Gianni Faibrother for Alex Newhook, they hoped he would become a member of a solid center line behind Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach. This season, he’s playing on a line with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov. While he does take some faceoffs depending on the side on which they are taken, Kapanen is handling most of the center’s duties, and it’s working. Newhook looks much better this season, and it feels like a weight has been taken off his shoulders.
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When they traded for Kirby Dach and sent a first-round pick, they had sacrificed Alexander Romanov to get Frank Nzar and a third-round pick (that became Gavin Hayes).,the Habs brass hoped he would become the Canadiens’ second-line center. Three years later, Dach has suffered many injuries that didn’t help his case. However, he’s still struggling at the faceoff dot and at handling a center’s defensive responsibility, as evidenced in the game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. It might be time for the Habs to cut their losses and use him as a winger.
Granted, there aren’t many options internally for Martin St-Louis to replace him with, but at this stage, they need to see what he can offer as a winger. Dach is in a contract year and will be a UFA at the end of the season. To make an informed decision, the Habs’ brass needs to know what he could bring to the wing.
If a second-line center becomes available on the trade market, expect Hughes to go hard at it because while Ivan Demidov is doing well with Oliver Kapanen and Newhook, he would do even better with linemates who are real top-six players, something Dach hasn’t proven he can be yet.
Of course, Michael Hage is coming down the pipeline, having scored a goal and an assist in the Michigan Wolverines' last game, but the Canadiens cannot afford to wait for him to be ready. We’ve seen earlier this week that Owen Beck can’t play that role either. Finding a second-line center on the trade market is no easy task, but it appears it’s time to move on from the idea that Dach can be that guy, and the sooner the better.
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