So while we assumed that players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Alex Debrincat may be traded to bring back assets, I think I speak for the majority of us when I say most of us believed that 21 year old Kirby Dach would be still part of the rebuild and a big part of the future of the Blackhawks.
Dach is 6'4" center, who the Blackhawks drafted 3rd overall back in 2019. So far in his 152 game career he has 59 points.
Dach looked like he was going to break out in the 2020-21 season but an injury at the World Juniors definitely put a damper on that. The young center has shown flashes that he can be a long-time NHL player, but Dach has not been consistent enough yet.
At the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Dach was traded from Chicago Blackhawks to Montreal Canadiens for round 1 pick in the 2022 draft (Frank Nazar) and round 3 pick in the 2022 draft (Gavin Hayes).
Many were surprised and have had questions as to why they traded away such a young player with so much potential, and well, the Legendary Scotty Bowman who has been working with the Blackhawks for years as a senior adviser of hockey operations, finally gave us an answer.
From @mndamico just now on @tsn690, on why the Blackhawks moved Kirby Dach - "Scotty Bowman told us that it came down to the faceoffs.....and Chicago really wanted a complete roster reset." #gohabsgo� Matthew Ross 🎙️✍️🇨🇦 (@MatthewWords) August 28, 2022
I dont know about you, but Faceoffs seem to be a pretty weak reasoning to get rid of a young potential star!
POLL | ||
Should the Hawks have kept Dach? | ||
yes | 161 | 73.2 % |
no | 59 | 26.8 % |
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