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Canadiens Kirby Dach Stands Out As Top NHL Defensive Centre

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10 months ago

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Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach

Few players made a bigger impact on the Montreal Canadiens lineup last season than Kirby Dach.

And while we certainly value statistics and underlying numbers in the NHL, Dach’s value was quite apparent to anyone that watched a Canadiens game.

Whenever Dach jumped on the ice the Canadiens suddenly looked much better in transition, owing to Dach’s affinity for creating time and space for his linemates.

His long reach, elite vision, and high-end anticipation served the team quite well, especially when Dach was featured on the top line along with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

By The Numbers

Not only did it make a significant impact on their offensive numbers, but Dach also improved the line’s defensive numbers.

For example, with Dach the top line controlled over 52 percent of the shots during their shifts, not to mention 50.5 percent of the expected goals.

Without Dach, they only managed to have a 41.7 percent share of the shots while producing an embarrassing expected goal of 30.5, far from what you want to see from a team’s No.1 line.

To put a fine point on Dach’s impact, we can check the expected goals for and expected goals against rates.

With Dach, the top line was expected to score 2.6 goals for and 2.57 goals against per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time. Without Dach, Suzuki and Caufield were expected to score just 1.69 goals for per 60 while allowing 3.85 expected goals against.

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Unsurprisingly, the same phenomenon took place whenever Dach played as a centre on the second line. Dach can’t win a faceoff to save his life, but given his underlying numbers while playing as a centre, we can easily overlook his lack of faceoff efficiency.

What matters most is that whenever Dach is on the ice as a centre, the Canadiens tend to control the play, which is very encouraging given the team has struggled in that regard in recent years.

Top Centre?

According to hockey analysts Andy & Rono, Dach was one of the best defensive centres in the NHL last season.

Dach was ranked 10th by Andy and Rono, landing near some of the most respected and talented centres in the league, including Patrice Bergeron, Nico Hischier, and Elias Pettersson.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, we must note that it’s probably too early to pencil him in as a future Selke Trophy candidate.

We have to take these rankings with a grain of salt, given that most Canadiens fans are well aware that Dach spent a significant portion of his season as a winger.

However, it’s also a rather encouraging ranking given that Dach was recently considered a bust, leading to his unceremonious trade from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Montreal Canadiens Statistics via NaturalStatTrick

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