Grading Christian Dvorak's season

The Montreal Canadiens had a big loss when Christian Dvorak went down with an injury to his pectoral, which kept him out for most of the season.

His faceoff prowess was especially missed with Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans and Sean Monahan having to fill in. Alex Newhook did his best to help out also, but it wasn't hard to tell that the Canadiens missed having a strong centre in the fold. This was even clearer to see after the Habs dealt Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets, as he masked a lot of the faceoff worries.

So Dvorak's return towards that end of the year was a big help, his two goals in his return especially, but his two-way game was a big addition to the lineup. Like Kirby Dach, it is tough to grade Dvorak's season because he didn't play a whole lot. Dvorak did play 28 games more than Dach, so there is a bigger sample size to examine.

With Dvorak, it has been more of the same, he is effective, although not flashy - but he has dealt with injuries. Since his rookie season in 2016-17, Dvorak hasn't played a full 82 games and since arriving in Montreal, the most games he has played is 64 in his second season (2022-23). I don't expect that Dvorak will be around beyond the 2025 Trade Deadline, but his health could ensure the Canadiens get a decent return for the 28-year-old.

While he did have an injury-shortened season, he did play quite well during the games he was healthy and for that, he is deserving of a solid grade. I would give him a C grade because he needs to stay healthy and if he can achieve that goal, I think his grade will increase. Not because of goals or points, but faceoff wins, forced turnovers and hard work on the penalty kill.

Mostly known for his lacking of excitement when scoring goals, Dvorak is the ideal bottom six centre that would help push a contende over the top. Hopefully he can stay healthy and have a good season, so the Canadiens can extract the most out of the asset