Martin St-Louis isn’t the kind of coach who uses the microphone to light a fire under one of his players.
That matters here, because Kirby Dach has been one of the most talked-about Canadiens at training camp for all the wrong reasons. The forward skipped discussion about his contract situation when camp opened, which was hardly shocking given the circumstances around his arbitration filing and two-way qualifying offer. What has raised eyebrows is what has followed on the ice: a camp that hasn’t looked like a player trying to force the issue.
Dach has come across like someone skating with a lineup spot already locked in, not someone fighting to earn one. That’s a tough look in Montreal right now, especially with Florian Xhekaj bringing a very different energy every time he steps over the boards. Xhekaj has been noticeable for the right reasons - pace, contact, and a willingness to make his presence felt.
The problem for Dach is that he and Xhekaj are chasing the same thing: a bottom-six job. Dach may see himself as a top-six player, and maybe that’s where he thinks he belongs, but the Canadiens’ top six doesn’t have room for him. So the adjustment has to come somewhere else, and so far he hasn’t shown that he’s made it.
At 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds, Dach should be a handful. Instead, he has looked like a player who gives ground too easily when the puck is up for grabs.
He isn’t attacking those battles like a bigger forward should, and that’s a frustrating watch for anyone expecting him to use his size and skill together. The talent is there.
The urgency hasn’t been.
That’s why some of the frustration around him has turned into harsher comparisons, including to Alexandre Daigle and Benoit Pouliot. The point is the same in both cases: gifted players who never quite turned all that promise into what it should have become.
St-Louis, though, isn’t taking the bait. When he was asked Wednesday in Brossard what he needed to see from Dach over the final week of camp, his answer was brief: "I wouldn’t say it’s one thing; just continue to work on his game and get ready for the season."
That’s the coach’s style in a nutshell. If he has something to say to Dach, it won’t come through the media.
It’ll come in practice, in the room, or in reduced ice time. He already hinted at that earlier in camp when he said he didn’t know what Dach’s role would be this season.
St-Louis is a player’s coach, and that has always shaped the way he communicates. It doesn’t mean he hands out passes. It just means he doesn’t operate like John Tortorella.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Face A Kirill Marchenko Decision They Can't Let Drag Out
Kirill Marchenkos name is already moving through the rumor mill, and that alone makes him worth watching for a Canadiens team that is always keeping tabs on young scoring talent. Sportsnet insider Nick Kypreos has linked Montreal, along with Toronto and Edmonton, to the Columbus winger, who is reportedly interested in leaving the Blue Jackets even though no official trade request has been confirmed.
The timing matters because Marchenko is heading into the final year of his deal with Columbus, which only sharpens the pressure on the Blue Jackets to sort out their plan sooner rather than later. For Montreal, it adds another potential target to a market where proven offense is rarely easy to find, and the longer this situation hangs there, the more it feels like a decision other teams will be waiting to pounce on. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Trade Pursuit Could Reshape Their Center Plan Fast
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Scheifele would not be a short-term patch, either, with a deal that runs through 2030-31 and a recent season that reminded everyone why he remains such an attractive target. Any conversation of this sort naturally turns to what Montreal would have to move the other way, and the names floating around underline the kind of price the Canadiens may need to consider if they want to change their center picture quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Should Watch This Suzuki-Caufield Camp Experiment Closely
The Canadiens are using camp to tinker with the shape of their top six, and one of the more notable early changes has Chris Kreider skating on the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Juraj Slafkovsky has been shifted to the second line as Montreal looks for a better balance up front, a move that also gives the club a different look around its captain and top scorer.
Suzuki noted the contrast in styles between the two wingers, with Kreider bringing more puck control and a stronger net-front presence while Slafkovsky has tended to operate a little higher and look to make plays. For a team trying to deepen its forward group without losing what makes its best line dangerous, how that fit develops in camp is worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]