Toews finally reacts to the Kirby Dach trade to the Canadiens and it's very interesting

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Jeff Drouin
July 29, 2022 (4:20 PM)

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One of the teams that has been (by far) the most active this summer in the National Hockey League is the Chicago Blackhawks organization.

And to say the least, they have not improved for the upcoming season. One of their big trades was with the Canadiens in Montreal in the 2022 draft, when Kent Hughes got young center Kirby Dach.

A trade that hurt the team, and a trade that particularly hurt captain Jonathan Toews. Just recently, the latter spoke to reporter Mark Lazerus (The Athletic), who covers the Hawks, and he had plenty to say:

"At the end of the day, we're talking about a five-year process when you go by what Kyle Davidson, the general manager said. That aspect doesn't sound appealing to me at all," Toews said. I can't speak for Patrick Kane, but I really feel like there's been a lot of change every year for the last three or four years. It's very, very exhausting."

Dach's departure is especially painful for Toews, because he had very seriously taken him under his wing, to develop him into a future star center and a future �Jonathan Toews':

"Alex DeBrincat was under Kane's wing and I like to think Kirby and I had the same type of chemistry," Toews said. Now they've walked out the door. We've seen that too many times. I've learned to be more patient, but there's no doubt what's coming is daunting. I'm not going to sit here and say what I'm going to do or what the future holds. I really don't know what's ahead."

He obviously didn't expect Dach to be traded to the Habs at all. You can clearly see it with his comments, he questions everything.

Toews, 34, has 37 points in 71 games in 2021-2022. His contract with Chicago ends in 2023 (10.5 million per year).

Knowing that Toews had a special bond with Kirby Dach, and knowing that he had taken him under wing, it will be interesting to see if he will continue to help his former teammate.

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