What Exactly To Expect Out Of Kirby Dach and the Canadiens This Season?

One of the best trades in recent memory for the Canadiens is shaping up to be shipping out Alexander Romanov and a 98th overall pick to the Islanders for their 13th overall pick, which they then flipped with the 66th overall pick for Kirby Dach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dach's first season was a pretty solid one with the Habs, recording 14 goals and 38 points in 58 games. The next season started out okay, two assists in one game, but then the worst possible thing happened, when an awkward bump from former Hab Jared Tinordi sent Dach into the bench awkwardly, tearing his ACL and MCL.

Tearing the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is a rough injury, but by no means is it a career ender. Looking at Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Professional Hockey Players, a paper looking at the effects of ACL tears on NHL players, the players all returned from injury, but on the whole produced less and for a shorter time than players that did not suffer ACLs.

As the Conclusion states:

"Most players are able to return to play in the NHL after an ACL injury. However, career length and performance may be significantly decreased compared with controls. This may represent a more severe initial injury, and more focused return-to-play pathways may identify barriers to return to play."

- Sikka et al.

So, that is not particularly great news when it comes to Dach and his recovery. However, it is hard to find a control group for hockey players. Any sport is unpredictable, and the difference between a long, fruitful career, and a short one can be mere inches.

Also, a point towards Dach's recovery is that he is only 23 years old. That is still very young, and younger players tend to recover easier and more fully than older ones.

But rehabilitating a knee injury is tough in any sport, let alone in hockey. Since the skating stride is so physically demanding in many different directions and twists, it puts a lot of strain in a lot of different ways on the ligaments holding that joint together. Just one small weakness or pain in any part of the knee could necessitate a total change in skating stride, and completely change a player's skating ability.

Predictions on Dach's season range from the ESPN's bleak outlook to our very own Nate Duffett's prediction. But the Montreal Canadiens, and Dach himself seem to have a rosy outlook on the coming season.

In a piece with Sportsnet, Dach and the Canadiens detail how they had planned to keep Dach's development on track despite missing a full year of on-ice activity. Dach was frequently seen with the team throughout the year, and head coach Marty St. Louis worked very closely with the injured player, making sure that while his on-ice skills may not have developed, his mind and hockey sense did.

Its definitely not a great injury to occur at any time, but it was the best time to happen with Dach, as he still has a lot of time to recover and fully adjust to his knee. I doubt that Dach will come flying right out of the gate, and it might be necessary to watch his ice time and usage, but the long term outlook should still be bright for Dach and the Canadiens.