Blackhawks reportedly listening to offers on 21-year-old former top-3 pick Kirby Dach
There is going to be plenty of turnover in Chicago this year and next, as they embark upon a total rebuild, that much we know. Not only are the Blackhawks preparing for the possibility of dealing Alex DeBrincat this summer, but according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Hawks are also taking calls on 21-year-old center Kirby Dach.
Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that the Blackhawks are actively shopping Dach, who would be in his mid-twenties by the time the rebuild began to actually bear fruit for the Hawks, but it is certainly interesting that they are at least gauging the market on him.
Dach, the 3rd overall pick in 2019, has been hot and cold since suffering a gruesome wrist injury at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship tournament. After posting 23 points in 64 regular season games as a rookie in 2019-20, Dach was given a golden opportunity to play meaningful minutes for the Hawks during the postseason, recording 6 points in 9 playoff games. All signs were pointing towards Dach breaking out in a big way in 2020-21.
As fate would have it, a wrist fracture during an exhibition game against Russia before the WJC tournament began derailed most of his season. Dach battled back from the injury suffered in December of 2020, but could not make it back into the lineup until the end of March of 2021. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native went pointless and a combined -4 in his first two games back after returning from injury, but went on to score 10 points in the final 16 games of the season, setting him up for a big 2021-22. Once again, fate had different plans, seeing Dach rack up just 26 points in 70 games this season.
A change of scenery and a fresh start could be just what the doctor ordered for Dach. With his draft pedigree and the fact that he has just 152 games of NHL experience, with a significant injury derailing his sophomore season, his value should still be reasonably high. I don't want to speculate on what a package for Dach might look like, but I'd imagine that it would be significant for a 21-year-old 6-foot-4 center who was a top-3 pick just a few summers ago.
