The Montreal Canadiens dropped a crucial Kirby Dach injury update on Wednesday, October 18, revealing that the 22-year-old is done for the 2023-24 NHL season.
The former top pick has been ruled out for the season due to ACL and MCL tears in his right leg.
Canadiens announce Kirby Dach’s season is done. Confirmed it’s ACL and MCL.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) October 18, 2023
Dach suffered the injury in the first period of the Canadiens 3-2 home win against the Chicago Blackhawks, ESPN reported. He took a hit from defenseman Jarred Tinordi and was forced to the bench.
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He eventually left the game and finished with three hits taken and a faceoff lost in 4:40 of ice time for the Habs.
The Canadiens are left with a huge void
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis admits that losing Dach for the season is difficult.
"He was off to a great start," St. Louis said. "He does a lot. He competes. He brings a physical aspect to the game, not running around and hitting guys, but winning pucks back. He's a guy that wins a lot of pucks and battles and steals pucks, and obviously great in transition."
With the Canadian hockey player forced out, the Habs are expected to turn to Alex Newhook to fill the void, CBS Sports reported.
Newhook will need to step up and do more centering on the second line. That all starts on Tuesday, October 24, when the Canadiens face a visiting Minnesota Wild team.
"It sucks losing a guy like that, no matter how long the timeline is, but I think it's just next-man-up mentality," Newhook said. "Obviously a big hole to fill, and I'm going to do my best to fill that and carry the load."
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