On Wednesday morning Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced the team had come to terms on a four-year deal with Kirby Dach. The contract carries an annual average salary of 3.3625 million dollars a season.
Dach was acquired at the NHL Draft from the Chicago Blackhawks for the 13th overall pick, which was acquired from the New York Islanders for Alexander Romanov in a separate deal. The 21-year-old finished last season with nine goals and 17 assists in 70 games.
Career-wise he has played 152 games in the NHL, scoring 19 goals and adding 40 assists, and was drafted by the Blackhawks third overall back in 2019. Hughes spoke to the media about the upside of adding more offense to his roster.
The Fort Saskatchewan native is also fresh from wrist surgery but stated in the press conference that he feels fine and has already started skating with the guys. He is looking forward to starting the season and is considering it a fresh start.
Hughes also did confirm that to comply with the salary cap Carey Price will go today on LTIR, meaning 10.5 million will come off the Canadiens cap. He also updated the media on Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron, who are also dealing with injuries.
Both Drouin and Byron are in what Hughes called a grey area, meaning they could be ready for opening night but potentially could return in the weeks after the beginning of the regular season. The same was said for Sean Monahan, who will step on the ice tomorrow for the first time.
The Habs will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on October 12th in the first game of the NHL regular season.
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