I'm not sure why you feel the need to be confrontational?
Yes, he turns 22 this year, but this is a clear and blatant tank year for the Hawks. He signed a Restricted Free Agency contract upon being traded to the Montreal Canadiens because his ELC had run its course, which is a 4 year/$13.450 million contract. As he improves, he would likely just stand in the way of the "tank" and the flexibility that comes with the open spot. By the time the Hawks would be coming out of the rebuild, it is likely towards the end of the Dach RFA contract in 2026, while he'd still be an RFA, the type of contract he'd be looking for at that point will be likely be a UFA type one, or else it's a one year prove it and hit UFA anyways type of thing (as he would be a UFA in 2027 without an extension prior to then). So then it's time to either pay him whatever his UFA value is or let him walk, or trade him at some point in the middle of his contract when he may fetch less value (unless he improves and beats his projections).
Instead, they can just accumulate draft capital right away to get younger players brought in that can hopefully complement the (future) top picks while being closer in age and more efficiently tank in what is projected to be a stronger draft.
It's a house-cleaning move for sure. It doesn't reflect negatively on Dach, I think people are too hesitant to declare that trades MUST have a "winner" and a "loser" (obviously some do based on how it plays out).
