Scotty Bowman reveals the reason Kirby Dach was traded to Montreal

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Jeff Drouin
August 29, 2022 (10:49)

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During the last NHL draft, the CH's new GM, Kent Hughes, surprised many by lining up two trades to acquire young Kirby Dach. In a recent video, we saw how hard Hughes worked to acquire the center.

It's hard to understand why a rebuilding team like the Chicago Blackhawks decided to trade a 21-year-old like Kirby Dach, especially since many experts see him as a great NHL player. Drafted third overall in the 2019 draft, the Windy City organization must have seen a very big flaw to part with the player.

On TSN 690 this morning, Marco D'Amico of Montreal Hockey Now had a piece of the answer to that:

"We talked to Scotty Bowman earlier this year and he told us the biggest problem with Dach was faceoffs and didn't fit what they wanted to do (in terms of identity)..." - Marco D'Amico

If that's the only reason, we agree that it's a bit ridiculous. It's still an improving aspect of the game and at worst, he'll make a great winger. Recall that the Tricolore paid a first round pick (13th overall) and a third round pick (66th) for the young center.

However, there is another (more logical) reason. He adds that fans and NHL officials underestimated how badly the Blackhawks wanted to tear it down and start over. Dach was traded for the reason mentioned above (face-offs), but more importantly, because he was drafted by the old Chicago management, and the new management wants to start over.

So Kirby Dach was not traded to Montreal for the reason that many think, it is not because of injuries (especially to the wrist), which is very positive for us.

As of today, Dach is, along with Cayden Primeau, still without an agreement with the organization that owns his rights. A deal could happen, however, as Kent Hughes does not need to move to free up salary to sign Dach. With the placement of Price's contract on the LTIR, there is now plenty of room.