Kirby Dach and Martin St-Louis are on the clock after Montreal's arbitration filing changed the tone around his summer.
That matters right away because arbitration takes offer sheets off the table. Once Dach filed, this stopped being a waiting game with every door open.
Now the file gets tighter and more direct. Montreal can still settle before a hearing, but the timeline is firmer and the decision on Dach's future comes faster.
That is why this story has more bite than a routine RFA move. Dach is not some fringe piece. He is 25, shoots right, and still gives the Canadiens one of their few big center bodies at 6-foot-4.
The production is where the pressure starts. Dach played 37 games in 2025-26 and finished with 8 goals and 15 points. He then went through 10 playoff games without a point.
Those numbers do not give Montreal much reason to hand him an easy long-term bet. They do leave enough room for a short extension or a trade talk shift if the club no longer loves the fit.
The team context makes that even harder to ignore. The Canadiens went 48-24-10 for 106 points, so this is not a rebuilding club that can keep every question open forever.
" This stops offer sheets for Kirby and will force a decision to happen sooner on his future.
I doubt this ever makes it to ACTUAL arbitration. This will almost certainly settle in the next little while.
Don't forget, Struble filed last year but got a 2 yr extension to avoid it. "
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The worst may have just been confirmed for the Canadiens and Kirby Dach
That is the real angle. Dach still has upside, and big right-shot centers do not come around often. But once arbitration hits, the organization has to decide whether it still sees him as part of the answer.
St-Louis already has a core that drives the room. Nick Suzuki finished with 101 points, while Cole Caufield scored 51 goals. Ivan Demidov also gave Montreal 62 points as a rookie.
That changes how Dach is judged. He no longer needs to be protected by the idea of what he might become. He has to fit the group that already exists and help it now.
The smart read is that this still settles before a hearing. Arbitration often forces movement because neither side wants the whole case dragged into a room.
But even if a deal comes soon, the filing still says something. Kirby Dach's summer is no longer about open-ended hope. It is about Montreal making a clean call on a player with size, skill, and just enough uncertainty to keep the whole file uncomfortable.
Should the Canadiens still commit to Kirby Dach after this arbitration filing?
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