Report: Montreal Canadiens Forward Becoming Prime Trade Candidate

The Montreal Canadiens are full of internal competition this season, and for some veteran forwards, it's quickly become a numbers game. This includes Kirby Dach, and Dach is quickly becoming a prime trade candidate for the Habs.

Dach, 25, is a pending unrestricted free agent, set to earn $3.6 million this season, and doesn't own any trade protection on his contract. The Athletic's Arpon Basu recently published a piece on the Canadiens log jam of forwards, and named Dach as someone who doesn't have a secure future with the franchise. Basu cites the fact the Canadiens are loaded with top prospects pushing for NHL minutes, including Michael Hage, which could push Dach out. It also doesn't help when the head coach admits he doesn't know yet where Dach fits into this season's roster.

Forwards Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky are both coming up on the horizon. That is a threat Newhook suddenly doesn’t need to worry about, but Dach most certainly does, or at least should, since he is one of the incumbent players in camp without a clearly defined role. “I don’t know yet,” coach Martin St. Louis said Friday when asked about Dach’s role.

“I love being here, I’m really close with a lot of the guys,” Dach said. “We’ve kind of built a great culture here and definitely I’m going to enjoy this year and hopefully can prove (myself) to stay.”

Dach will be in tough to stay in Montreal, as he hasn't been able to stay healthy or consistently produce. While certainly keep an eye on Dach being shipped out before the start of the season, don't be surprised to see goaltender Sam Montembeault also moved.