Fantasy Focus: Kirby Dach

After yet another injury-riddled season, Kirby Dach appears set to get another shot to play in Montreal’s top six.  Entering a contract year, will he be able to next the next step in his development in 2025-26?

2024-25

Coming back from a pretty serious knee injury, there was some cautious optimism that Dach could still come in and at least get back to his 2022-23 form, one that saw him pick things up in the second half and saw him become a decent top-six contributor.  That didn’t happen.

In the first quarter of the season, he had two stretches of at least five games without a point.  The end of that stretch kicked off an even longer drought, a nine-game one that saw him nearly go three weeks without a point.  After getting an assist to end that, Dach then had another five-game drought.  The end result was two goals and nine assists in 34 games to start the season.  Forget about second-line production, that was arguably not even fourth-line production.

Fortunately, he was able to turn things around from there.  He had six goals in nine games after the holiday break and he earned himself an increase in ice time along the way.  Dach wasn’t able to sustain that (few can sustain a shooting percentage of 40) but his longest point drought over his final couple of months was just one four-game stretch.

But unfortunately, a lower-body injury (recently revealed to be a re-tear of the ACL he tore the year before) sustained in late February ended his season prematurely.  Just when it looked like he was turning the corner, injuries derailed his development once again, leading to more questions.

Regular Season Stats: 57 GP, 10-12-22, -29, 40 PIMS, 1 PPG, 2 GWG, 84 shots, 15:40 ATOI

5-Year Averages

(2020-21’s numbers have been extrapolated to an 82-game season.)

GP: 43
Goals: 7
Assists: 14
Points: 21
+/-: -10
PIMS: 26
PPG: 2
GWG: 1
Shots: 70

2025-26 Role

It’s fair to say that Dach is one of the wild cards for Montreal for the upcoming season.  If all goes well and he stays healthy, he could be a key secondary contributor to help push the offence to a higher level which would go a long way toward keeping them in the playoff picture.  However, if the inconsistency returns and the injury bug rears its head once again, he could wind up being a non-factor.

Recently, head coach Martin St. Louis indicated that the plan is for Dach to start the season as the second-line centre.  Basically, the role he struggled in last year and failed to play with much consistency when healthy in previous years.  There’s something to be said about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result (there’s a word for that) but at the same time, their lack of depth down the middle makes the experiment understandable.  That should have him in line to play with Ivan Demidov and likely Patrik Laine on a line that could have a lot of offensive upside but also a ton of question marks.

Dach quietly was one of Montreal’s most-used forwards on the power play last season, averaging 2:28 per game with the man advantage.  It would be surprising to see that be the case this year.  The full-time arrival of Demidov and the acquisition of Zachary Bolduc could cut into that.  Seeing action on the second unit as a net-front player could still be doable but it wouldn’t be shocking to see a minute come off that average.

With the Habs justifiably being careful with Dach heading into the season, it would be surprising to see him playing shorthanded at the start.  However, if he’s doing well in the first half, it’s possible that they could give him a bit of run on the penalty kill, especially if they want to ease some of the work off Nick Suzuki who will likely be counted on to help fill Christian Dvorak’s shoes when down a man.  That would certainly be a positive sign from a development standpoint although a lot will have to happen first before that becomes an option.

Projected Stats

Just as Dach is a wild card for the Habs this season, he’s also a wild card when it comes to fantasy hockey.  In standard-sized leagues, there’s no need to draft him.  Just let things play out and if he gets on a hot streak or you’re intrigued by his usage and playing time, then take a flyer as a waiver wire pickup.

But in deeper pools, Dach becomes a little more intriguing.  If Demidov can help ignite that second line, a combination with him, a playmaker in Dach, and a shooter in Laine could do some damage.  A reasonably productive second-line center can carry some value on a fantasy team.  And with his lengthy injury history, he’s someone that might be somewhat of an afterthought in the draft.  In essence, he’s a bit of a sleeper candidate.

That said, you’re not going to get a lot of stat stuffing from Dach.  He’s more of a playmaker than scorer and even his shot volume has typically left a lot to be desired.  He upped the physicality last season which gives him a bit of value for leagues with that category.  If you’re in a deeper pool, don’t reach too early, but keep him in mind when the later rounds come around.

GP: 66
Goals: 13
Assists: 28
Points: 41
+/-: -13
PIMS: 46
PPG: 2
GWG: 2
Shots: 98