Canadiens open to trading Dach — The Fourth Period
The Montreal Canadiens continue to explore the trade market in hopes of bringing in another impact forward, preferably a centre, to their top-six.
During Thursday’s DFO Rundown Insider Edition free agency recap special with Irfaan Gaffar and David Pagnotta, the duo discussed what the Canadiens are looking for and Pagnotta reported the Habs are open to possibly trading centre Kirby Dach for an upgrade on the roster.
Dach, 25, saw his four-year, $13.45 million contract expire at the end of June and is currently a restricted free agent after the Canadiens submitted a qualifying offer.
“Like I mentioned Jack Quinn with Buffalo around draft time, Kirby Dach’s name also has been circulating around the trade ranks,” Pagnotta said. “He’s an RFA. They have to figure out what they want to do … but his name has been circulating around the trade world.”
With just over $14.2 million in salary cap space, the Canadiens have room to continue to add to their roster even with RFAs Dach, Zack Bolduc, Arber Xhekaj and Brett Berard in need of new deals.
Moving Dach, though, may only occur if the Canadiens land another centre ahead of next season. The two sides, meanwhile, will continue to discuss what a new contract may look like.
“With the Canadiens still looking to upgrade their 2C position, and they have been obviously engaged in talks with other teams of some of their other star players to see if they can bring in another star, add to this arsenal,” Pagnotta said. “Maybe Dach is a player that’s utilized in some type of package along those lines, but his name, as I said, has been circulating. We’ll see if it continues to as the summer moves along.”
