Kirby Dach will really try to imitate Cole Caufield

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Jeff Drouin
September 8, 2022 (11:35 PM)

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It's now done, the Kirby Dach file is finally settled. The Habs' young forward has finally agreed to a 4-year, $13.45 million contract and will be in his position for the start of the team's training camp in September.

While the third overall pick in 2019 didn't break anything with the Chicago Blackhawks, it will be interesting to see what he can give the Habs, who acquired him in the last NHL draft for a first-round pick as well as a third-round pick.

If some Hawks officials felt that the Habs' new forward was having trouble scoring goals in Chicago, he'll no doubt want to prove to his new teammates that they were right to give him this contract, which is a vote of confidence in the young center entering his fourth NHL season.

One intriguing thing about Kirby Dach, however, is what kind of production he could bring to the tricolor offense. In three seasons in Chicago, he's only scored 59 points in 152 games, including just 12 goals, not necessarily stats you'd attribute to a player picked third overall.

Will Martin St. Louis be able to unlock the center with the Habs like he did with Cole Caufield?

As Mathis Therrien of Danslescoulisses.com reports, St-Louis' arrival last February literally unlocked two forwards, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

While Caufield's case is well known, it's a little less so with number 14 because he had only 27 points in 45 games under Dominique Ducharme, which isn't too bad considering that the Habs were the worst team in the NHL.

But when St. Louis came in as a replacement, Suzuki averaged one point per game with 26 points, including 10 goals, in the new head coach's first 26 games last winter. Caufield, on the other hand, had scored just one goal in 30 games with Ducharme behind the bench, while he finished the season with 23 goals in 67 games.

We know that a coaching change is often beneficial, especially for a young player on the rise, and we saw the results with Suzuki and Caufield. There are no guarantees, but we can hope.

Let's just say that at only 21 years old, Kirby Dach could very well have his offensive blossoming in Montreal, and clearly, Dach will try to emulate Cole Caufield and what he accomplished last year.