Player Discussion Kirby Dach: Welcome to Montreal part 2

[Goalfield13]

Xhekaj’s height and reach but a 240 lb beast really helps.

Romy’s a beaut but what do you do long term? Have Romanov on your 3rd pairing?

Xhekaj is a bottom pairing D, my friend. I don't think he will ever be better than Romanov.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Xhekaj is a bottom pairing D, my friend. I don't think he will ever be better than Romanov.

And if you read what I wrote I never said otherwise lol.

My point has always been Romanov would be behind Guhle and Hutson on the left side.

Romanov had the better trade value than Xhekaj does and Xhekaj doesn’t get us Dach.

So would I trade Xhekaj for Romanov straight up? I don’t think I would. NOT because Xhekaj is better. I will repeat it 30 times if I have to. It’s because he brings elements we lack more. That’s all

 

[OldCraig71]

Xhekaj is a bottom pairing D, my friend. I don't think he will ever be better than Romanov.

He's more in the mold of a Ben Chiarot, I agree that Romanov is a better defender though.

 

[26Mats]

And if you read what I wrote I never said otherwise lol.

My point has always been Romanov would be behind Guhle and Hutson on the left side.

Romanov had the better trade value than Xhekaj does and Xhekaj doesn’t get us Dach.

So would I trade Xhekaj for Romanov straight up? I don’t think I would. NOT because Xhekaj is better. I will repeat it 30 times if I have to. It’s because he brings elements we lack more. That’s all

Xhekaj's going to need to be a good defender though to hold his value. He can't be a liability defensively because he brings policing. We can get a policeman for the 4th line. His value now is based on his potential to both be able to play a regular shift and be one of the best policemen in the league.

Either way, hopefully Olivier replaces Pez next year.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Agree we need to give him time.

But I think we also should treat it like 2nd line center is a hole that needs filling. We can bring in somebody else and still keep Dach. Because if Dach doesn't find his game, we're really up the creek. Coming into this year I said so much depended on him being 'the guy' on the second line. He's crapped out (not necessarily his fault) and it's really hurt us. We need help there.

Keep him. Let him find his game. But depending on him going forward is a mistake in my opinion. Quarter into the season and he's been pretty bad. How long do we wait for him to find his game before getting another center? Might as well get one anyway.

I wouldn't depend on anyone for anything. You gotta keep proving you're the guy. Not gonna not go after a 1st line center who becomes available just because we have Suzuki for example.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It’s hole-ish lol. To me anyways.

Beck being a #2 isn’t out of the question. Maybe not the most drool worthy option but he could easily end up being a damn good one honestly.

Hage arguably has the raw upside Suzuki had at the same time. No guarantees he’ll be as good obviously but easily #2 upside.

I’m not objecting to drafting one with a high pick but to me the biggest hole is RD. Reinbacher and Mailloux could end up being great and more than enough but they’re AT LEAST as question mark-y as Dach and there is NO ONE besides Barron to back them up.

For me the C situation is far better than the RD situation

Hole-ish is fine. But we can’t depend on Dach and assume he’ll be the guy. I thought he would be. He still might be. But….

 

[ChikN]

I thought he looked better yesterday. Hopefully he builds on it.

 

[Habssince89]

Someone in the danault mold is fine as a stopgap 2C with hage in the pipeline, and then hopefully that C can get pushed down to 3C.

Just one decent centre stabilizes the lineup immensely. Hopefully Hughes can get one so we don't hurt development. As much as I don't like the current state of our centres, the wings are full. Plugging the hole at C would really let our strength at wing shine.

 

[26Mats]

Someone in the danault mold is fine as a stopgap 2C with hage in the pipeline, and then hopefully that C can get pushed down to 3C.

Just one decent centre stabilizes the lineup immensely. Hopefully Hughes can get one so we don't hurt development. As much as I don't like the current state of our centres, the wings are full. Plugging the hole at C would really let our strength at wing shine.

that's why for sure Monahan would have been good at least for the next 2 to 3 years, not sure about years 4 and 5 of a 5 year deal. Plus he's good on the wing (at least for now at his current age).

 

[JianYang]

What;s annoying about these discussions is the revisionist history. Folks seeing how Dach is playing now and pretending that this is how he played in 2022, which is just plain false. None of the descriptors of current Dach were used two years ago. Hell they weren't even used in THIS pre-season. So to say that he was always this way is pure narrative convenience.

I am personally shocked at how different Dach 2024 looks from Dach 2022. Two completely different players. In 2022 he was winning board battles, threading needles, carrying the puck from end-to-end, gaining the o-zone with ease.

Now he can't even hold the puck for more than a second without losing it or making a bad play. Something is off.

You hit the nail on the button. I would remember commenting on how much I liked dach's ability to hold the puck and buy time for himself.... the way he could use that to survey his options.

Now he loses any 50/50 puck and if he doea happen to get the puck, he will lose it or make a poor decision and he's definitely not hanging on to it anymore.

That sounds to me alot like it's a mental issue more than anything else, and I still have hope that he will overcome it without requiring another change of scenery.