ESPN doesn't believe in Kirby Dach in recent projections

ESPN recently released their player projections for the 2024-25 season and there were some interesting opinions on the Montreal Canadiens. One player who ESPN doesn't believe in is Kirby Dach, who played just two games last season with two assists. All signs point to Dach being healthy for the start of the 2024-25 season, so their projections don't make much sense.

ESPN's 2024-25 Kirby Dach projection

67 GP, 11 G, 19 A, 30 Pts, 12 PP Pts

ESPN predicts that Dach will have 11 goals and 19 assists over 67 games in 2024-25. The projection of him playing in just 67 games is fair, as Dach has battled injury issues since his career began. However, most of those injuries have been singular incidents that don't lead to long-term issues. Their 30 points in 67 games prediction would suggest that Dach will average 0.44 points per game in 2024-25. That'd be 0.22 points per game less than he had in his inaugural season with the Canadiens.

Dach will now have a bit more offensive help in this season. He will likely have players like Alex Newhook and Joshua Roy alongside him on the second line. He could get time on the first powerplay unit with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Mike Matheson. It wouldn't be impossible to project that Dach could record half of those 30 points on the powerplay like Slafkovsky did last season with 14. Dach could also land on the high-end in powerplay points, like Suzuki, who had 30 last season.

My 2024-25 Kirby Dach projection

73 GP, 20 G, 35 A, 55 Pts, 21 PP Pts

I'll give Dach the benefit of the doubt and say he will play close to a full season in 2024-25 with his knee issues behind him. It won't be easy to bounce back from an ACL and MCL tear, but Dach was feeling good about his game going into the 2023-24 season and hopefully will carry over that confidence.

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Dach should spend the full season on the second line and the first powerplay unit. He may miss some games for various bumps and bruises, but I hope he won't face any major injury problems. Dach should excel on the first powerplay unit and hopefully find some chemistry with Newhook or Roy.

Dach must prove he can play a second-line role if he wants to stick around once Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage join the team. Having a bounce-back season and a 50+ point campaign would be a great start.