The Montreal Canadiens have been in a bit of a rebuild in recent years, despite a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, and general manager Kent Hughes believes the young group of players will come together to have a promising season, especially with Kirby Dach returning from a season-ending knee injury that he suffered early on last year.

“I think we'll grow organically and be better than we were last year,” Kent Hughes said, via Sean Farrell of NHL.com. “The one unknown that we've dealt with in varying degrees over the last few seasons is the injuries, but if we're healthy I expect that we're a better team organically. If we have Kirby Dach for 82 games instead of one and a period, we're a better hockey team. We expect that our young players get better. I expect that as a team, we improve the more that they work together. You add building blocks when. you have continuity as a group.”

The Canadiens' center depth should be much better with Kirby Dach back in the lineup, slotting into that second line spot behind Nick Suzuki. Players like Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky are pieces that the Canadiens are betting on as well.

Canadiens fired up for Kirby Dach's return

There is no questioning how important Dach is in the view of the Canadiens' front office. President Jeff Gorton emphasized that when speaking on his potential return.

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“For us, Kirby this year, it's like signing a free agent because we didn't have him,” Jeff Gorton said, via Farrell. “We had him for, I guess, a game and a little bit, so less than two games last season. … The players are pretty excited they have Kirby back. We know that there were so many nights last season where we looked around after the game and said, ‘Oof, it would have been nice to have Kirby.' And now we're going have him healthy and we're excited about what he can do for us.”

It will be interesting to see how Dach fares after a long absence. He showed some promise in the 2022-2023 season with Montreal after coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored 14 goals and recorded 24 assists for 38 points in 58 games, according to NHL.com. Dach was one of the top prospects in the 2019 NHL Draft, as he was selected third overall by the Blackhawks. He is still trying to live up to that draft status, and the Canadiens believe he is capable of that this season.