BROSSARD — Kirby Dach knows injuries have made the past two years a nightmare on the ice.
The Montreal Canadiens centre still refuses to feel sorry for himself.
“The league doesn’t stop to worry about me,” Dach said Thursday. “Why would I stop and worry about myself when I’ve got to get back to work and do all the right things?”
For the second straight camp, Dach is grinding back from a season-ending right knee injury. This time around, he’s tackling it with lessons learned from his previous lengthy recovery.
Dach struggled to rebound quickly last season, sputtering to only two goals and nine points — and a team-low minus-21 — through the first 30 games.
The six-foot-four forward finished with 10 goals and 12 assists in 57 games — well below expectations for a former No. 3 overall pick — but he appears dead-set on flipping the script this season.
“I don’t really look at it as a challenge, more as an opportunity to right some wrongs,” he said of his second knee recovery. “You learn a lot of lessons in life and you can either choose to go through those and accept them … or you can just keep going through life and making mistakes. I looked at it as an opportunity to do things the right way and really bear down and get ready for the season.
“Doing everything away from the rink and doing everything on the ice as hard as I can and with purpose, understanding that you got to be ready and do everything (correctly).”
Defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who trained with Dach around Edmonton during the off-season, saw it first-hand.
“Some days he’d be at the gym three, four hours working out,” Guhle said. “He’d be at the gym so long, he’d be working out with the 12-year-olds.
“He was dialled in all summer. He was doing what he had to do. I hope he has a great start — I expect him to have a great start.”
Head coach Martin St. Louis confirmed Tuesday that the second-line centre spot is Dach’s to lose.
The 24-year-old, who hopes to be ready for Montreal’s season-opener Oct. 8 in Toronto, is skating with sharpshooter Patrik Laine and rookie-of-the-year favourite Ivan Demidov on his wings at camp.
It’s a combination the Canadiens hope brings Dach back to the form of his first season in Montreal, when he put up 38 points in 58 games in 2022-23 after arriving via trade from Chicago.
“It’s where I want to be. I’m the centre,” Dach said. “I know I can play on both sides of the puck and be a difference-maker, so I feel good and I’m ready to do it.”
Laine, who’s also chasing a bounce-back season, believes Dach can find his way.
“He’s proven that when he’s healthy, he can definitely be that guy,” Laine said. “You can definitely see all the work he’s put in this summer and after the injury to be ready.
“It’s an exciting and scary thing for other teams when a big man like that gets going, and with his hands too, it’ll be a pretty fun line to be a part of.”
Nick Suzuki and Dach were seen as Montreal’s one-two punch down the middle until Dach’s first serious knee injury just two games into 2023-24.
Over the off-season, Montreal’s need for a second-line centre dominated chatter among fans and media.
Dach, who’s also playing for his next contract with his deal set to expire after this season, will first have an opportunity to prove that’s not a need after all.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
