The Montreal Canadiens have a firm date circled now in their standoff with Kirby Dach: July 30.
That’s when both sides will have to make their case to the arbitrator, according to Puckpedia, which has now set the full schedule for NHL arbitration hearings. Dach is the only Canadiens player who elected arbitration, and his hearing lands on the second-to-last day on the calendar. That still leaves 17 days for Montreal and the player to hammer out a deal before it gets that far.
Dach’s path to this point started with the qualifying offer the Canadiens put in front of him. Montreal gave him a two-way qualifying offer worth a $4M NHL salary, with an AHL salary attached if he couldn’t make the lineup.
He then cleared waivers and joined the Laval Rocket. The club was able to structure the offer that way because of Dach’s number of games played, not just last season but across the last three seasons.
In practical terms, the Canadiens appear to have used the one mechanism they had to try to keep his pay below the $4M he could have received on a one-way deal.
The forward is represented by Gerry Johannson, the same agent who handles Brendan Gallagher and Dach’s younger brother, Colton. On Sunday, Colton Dach reached a deal with the Edmonton Oilers, signing a two-year contract extension with an AAV of $ 1.2 M. Colton, a second-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2021 draft, was traded to Edmonton in early March.
However this plays out, Montreal should know Dach’s number by early August at the latest. That could also make him easier to move in a trade if GM Kent Hughes wants to go that route. Around the league, Trevor Zegras is set for arbitration on July 22, and Jason Robertson follows on July 25.
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