Montreal Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said that the team has a plan in place to have centre Kirby Dach ready for opening night.
Dach, who underwent season-ending right knee surgery on Feb. 28, has been skating with teammates at the team’s practice facility in Brossard, Que. since the end of August and will take part in training camp.
“I think Kirby looks great,” said Gorton at the Canadiens’ annual golf tournament on Monday. “He feels great. He’s healthy. We have a plan in place to get him ready for opening night. So that’s what we’re going to try to do. We might be a little bit slow off the mark with him, but our plan is to have him opening night.”
Since acquiring Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks in a draft-day trade on July 7, 2022, his tenure in Montreal has been riddled with injury.
In 2022-23, he played in just 58 games due to lower- and upper-body injuries. He was injured in Game 2 of the 2023-24 campaign, tearing his ACL and MCL and had season-ending knee surgery. Last year, he played 57 games before his latest knee injury.
The 24-year-old struggled at both ends of the ice last season, scoring 10 goals with 22 points in 57 games and was a minus-29.
Dach is entering the final season of a four-year, $13.45 million contract with an AAV of $3.36 million.
The former third-overall pick in 2019 has 43 goals and 121 points in 269 career NHL games.
The Montreal Canadiens open the 2025-26 regular season on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 8.