It’s an understatement to say that the Canadian suffered a heavy loss with Kirby Dach’s knee injury. Pieces chosen from Monday’s training, at the end of which the organization dropped the news.
Brendan Gallagher, senior striker: “You saw him last year, he can take control of a game. »
Juraj Slafkovsky, his linemate since the start of camp: “He’s one of our best players. When you lose it, you lose a lot. Hopefully he will come back soon. He is a good player who can control the puck and makes the work of his wingers easier. »
And Martin St-Louis, head coach of the team, who has seen some good hockey players come and go: “After every preparatory game he played, you left the arena and said: ‘Wow, Dach was good tonight.” It’s pleasant for a coach. I know it’s a small sample, but I saw maturity in his consistency, in his ability to do it every night. »
This is therefore what the Canadian will miss for the coming weeks. How long ? Hard to say, but the Canadiens’ vice-president of hockey communications, Chantal Machabée, announced a “significant injury” and an absence “not in the short term.”
For his part, colleague Eric Engels, of Sportsnet, affirms that Dach would suffer from tears in the anterior cruciate ligament and the medial ligament. If so, the ACL tear alone means a season over, since the resulting surgery usually requires a minimum of six months of recovery, leading somewhere in April.
It’s unclear whether Slafkovsky already knew this information when he met with the media, but the Slovakian offered a heartfelt response when asked how Dach might be feeling right now.
“Absolutely f***ing terrible, I don’t know! It’s the worst thing that could happen. You learn this news after the second match. It’s quite sad. There’s nothing we can do about it. Hopefully he will come back soon. »
“He’s a very important player for us and we’re going to miss him,” added St-Louis. But the league doesn’t care. His absence bothers just one team. The other teams don’t care and the league continues. »
The league continues, so does Alex Newhook. The soft landing that St-Louis wanted to offer him takes the edge for the moment, since he is transferred to the center. The head coach was also categorical on the subject: “At the center, we have enough depth, we will have even more when [Christian Dvorak] returns. For now, you know who our four centers are and we’re going to go with that.
“With our depth in the center, we could give him less responsibilities,” also said the coach, recalling that it is important to “play” with the cards given to him. And in the cards right now, “he plays center. It’s not like he’s never done it, so it doesn’t worry me much. But when you play this position, you have to understand the responsibilities.”
Since he is on the long-term injured list, Dvorak will not be eligible to return until the 11th game of the season. Which leaves, in the meantime, eight games for Newhook to show what he is capable of as a pivot, his natural position.
Newhook has played there intermittently since arriving in the NHL. The young man, however, struggled with faceoffs. From 34.7% success in his first full season with the Colorado Avalanche (2021-2022), he “progressed” to 41.4% last season.
Note, however, that Dach, since we are talking about him, arrived in Montreal with the same doubts about himself, particularly because of his failures in faceoffs. And that did not prevent him from flourishing at this position.
“Faceoffs are tough in this league,” Newhook recalled. Some guys get paid well to earn them. You’re going to have streaks, ups and downs, moments where you earn less. I learned a lot. I think I can be a reliable guy in the offensive and defensive zones. »
“No matter where I play, I want to prove myself. I still have a lot more to offer in this league. In this role, I will have to be one of the guys who stands up. This is my chance to prove that I belong in this position. »
With a four-year contract in his pocket, at $2.9 million per season, Newhook has nothing to gain financially in the short term. He will simply be able to demonstrate that his speed, unanimously praised by his teammates and by St-Louis, will be able to serve him in the center.
Dach, on the other hand, finds himself once again slowed down in his development, as were too many young Canadians last season. In four seasons before the start of this campaign, the Albertan has already missed 80 games, the equivalent of a full season. He hasn’t seemed behind in his development since arriving in Montreal, but obviously a full season away from the game won’t help him establish himself as the top-6 forward the Habs believe to possess.
Another who could benefit from the absence of Kirby Dach is Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. The dynamic winger indeed confided to colleague Robert Laflamme, of LNH.com, that he will play in the first line, alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Harvey-Pinard is off to an inspired start to the season, and has two points in two games. His team holds a 4-1 advantage in scoring chances when he’s on the ice at 5-on-5 (source: Natural Stat Trick) and he set up Sean Monahan’s shorthanded goal on Saturday. Josh Anderson would therefore be transferred to another unit if the promotion of Harvey-Pinard is confirmed on Tuesday.
For the moment, the Habs do not intend to recall any attacker. The team already had Michael Pezzetta as the 13th forward. The hairy strongman will therefore be able to join the team this Tuesday, against the Minnesota Wild, unless we prefer Justin Barron and a team with 11 attackers and 7 defenders. The schedule for the next two weeks allows the Canadian to stick to a minimum of 12 attackers. The team will play five of its next six games at home, which simplifies the logistics of recalls.
