Montreal Canadiens Trade Romanov And Picks, Flip Return For Dach

The Montreal Canadiens made a splash at home when they traded Alexander Romanov and a few draft picks in a three-way trade that landed them Kirby Dach.

The Montreal Canadiens started the process by moving defenceman Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to the New York Islanders for their 13th overall pick. The Montreal Canadiens then turned around and flipped the 13th overall pick, along with the 66th overall pick, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for hulking center Kirby Dach.

With the logjam coming on left-defence over the next couple of years with the likes of Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris and more; Alexander Romanov became an expendable asset. Although he was progressing nicely and could likely grow into a bonafide top-4 defenceman, that was very good value for the Canadiens to get on the restricted free agent who is looking for a new long-term deal.

However, the second part of this three-way trade with the Blackhawks was perhaps even more shocking, as the Canadiens were able to flip the newly acquired 1st rounder with their own 3rd round pick for Kirby Dach. Dach, a former 3rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is a 6’4, smooth-skating centerman that can line up perfectly behind Nick Suzuki. The 21-year-old didn’t have the best season with the Blackhawks last year, putting up 26 points in 70 games, but the feeling is that he simply needed a change of scenery as Chicago committed to tearing it all down.

Dach’s rare combination of size and skating make him likely to have an impact on the Canadiens; who were on the smaller side up until the 2022 NHL Draft. In conjunction with the drafting of Juraj Slafkovsky, the Montreal Canadiens have given their top-6 a big boost at forward, with two speedy forwards with size that like to crash the net.