Absolutely not for CBJ. They're hoping Jiricek develops into the 1RD that they desperately need. Dach is more of what they've had for years which is a middle 6C.

I think Dach develops into a 1C, but I could understand if you have your doubts.

The player I saw last year is fantastic at creating offense and at puck protection. Not to mention he skates so smoothly. He's only 22 and it's hard to remember that sometimes.

I was thinking this was a fair deal, but again, I understand your perspective.

Dach is already a top 6 C, he will probably be a decent 1C. Makes sense Jiricek is more important for you though, especially with Smith/Carlsson coming soon.

Generally speaking, players don't develop a whole lot after 22. Dach would have to seriously beat that trend to become a true 1C and not just a poor man's 1C like Boone Jenner, Kevin Hayes, or a few others around the league. Not to mention his value was just at picks 13 and 66 in last year's draft and you're proposing the Jackets trade the player they used pick #6 on in that same draft to get Dach.

Maybe you haven't followed Jiricek since the draft, but he is in the conversation for the best affiliated hockey prospect in the league at the moment and is certainly in the top 5 no matter who you want to say has or hasn't graduated. A lot of people would say he would go top 3 in a redraft, leaning towards #2 behind Cooley. This trade is incredibly lopsided in favour of the Canadiens.

Players do not hit their prime at age 22, especially not bigger bodies. Not sure where you pulled that out of.

I would argue Dach will put up 60 points next season playing for the Habs, but let's check in next offseason and see if I'm right!

Look, you can try to sell me on a bag of milk, but I'm not going to put any money on a player that was 280th among forwards that played 50+ games this year in 5v5 p/60 becoming anything more than a poor 1C. He's absolutely not worth trading Jiricek for.

*It's crazy how much he underperforms the icetime he gets. He was 138th out of 143 players that averaged 13+ mins at 5v5 this year in 5v5 p/60. He is literally one of the least productive centers in the league and you all are trying to sell him as a potential 1C. Ridiculous.

As a CBJ fan, I like Dach a lot. I think he does a lot of things that the Blue Jackets really like. His retrievals and zone exits look like the basis of a strong player, especially with the wings he have. If we have him and Carlsson, we'd be pretty formidable at center-ice for a long time. If Dach stays at RW, we would need Laine, KJ or Sillinger to become at 2C in time. I don't think that's unreasonable. There's definitely a lot of room for him to continue to develop.

That being said, there's no way CBJ would consider trading Jiricek. He's a cornerstone prospect who just put up the most productive D+1 draft year in the history of the AHL. It would take something astronomical to pry Jiricek from CBJ at this juncture in his development.

I think Boqvist would be a good fit for Montreal. He's a PP1 QB who would be really dynamic when paired with Caufield. He's being made expendable by Jiricek's development.

Not trying to sell YOU anything sir. I have given you MY perspective on why I thought this was a good deal. You disagree, so we're cool. Let's see how it plays out next season.

Not really interested in Boqvist for Dach. Maybe another trade.

I do not think Boqvist is worth Dach.

as a CBJ fan and a big Dach fan, im loving this discussion. I do think since Dach has had an up and down NHL career so far (IMO its because he was rushed) and Jiricek just had a super good year in the AHL at 18, CBJ pass easily.

Dach is the prospect we all wanted in the Jones trade, not Boqvist. jiricek was also a result of that trade, since the sixth pick had originally been Chicago’s. This conversation is kind of funny.

But no, that is not enough for Jiricek.

Did not know the history. That is funny.

If Chicago had won a lottery slot last season, their 23 first would’ve been ours instead. Of course, they would not have blatantly tanked so hard as a result of not having their own first, and someone else would be printing money now.

lets say john that your defensive guys play ld and you play Barron and Mailloux at RD and you pair them with Matheson and Guhle I think that is a really good top 4 in 2 years and we have Savard for now while mailloux plays in laval. I dont think we need to trade for def... i think with all the kids coming we are fine... Where we truly lack is elite scoring talent up front. So no way you are trading Dach.. you want to add to suzuki and caufiled and dach.. so get a top talent at 5th this year and maybe bring in dubois in a year but do not sacrifice any of the elite talent we have as it is our weakest point... not RD or goalie for that matter.

Appreciate your response. I think my issue is with your foregone conclusions about the following:

1) Mailloux makes the NHL. Take a look at Nathan Beaulieu's numbers in junior for example and tell me again about how players who make bad decisions in junior but still put up points are automatically going to make it in the NHL

2) One of Mailloux or Barron end up as a top pair RHD. Even if both players have decent careers in the NHL, it does not mean they will be able to do the kind of 2-way work required to put up points while defending against McDavid, MacKinnon, Bedard and co.

3) The idea that pretty good defense is enough when every team to win the cup in the last decade has had an Elite Blueliner

Colorado had Makar
Tampa had Hedman
St-Louis had Pietrangelo
Washington had Carlson
Pittsburgh had Letang
Chicago had Keith
LA had Doughty

Neither Barron nor Mailloux will hold a candle to those guys in their primes...

And MTL have Huston… Pair him with Mailloux, who is criminally underrated and has not made a bad decision since his scandal, were chillin at D

First off, I agree that Hutson has the IT factor that could lead to being an NHL-elite (As does Jiricek).

In terms of Mailloux, I was referring more to scouting reports by amateur scouts who continually refer to him making poor decisions on the best play to make on the ice

Ohh ok, that type of decision. Ya, that could cause an issue, but looking at stats and videos of him this year, man, he looks insane. Worst case, Barron paired with Hutson will do some significant damage.

Can't see that pair clearing Tage Thompson out from in front of the net though.

Dach is likely nothing more than a middle 6 center which the jackets are flush with. Jiricek is the best defensive prospect in the NHL with an extremely high floor. There’s no one on the Habs roster that the jackets even remotely consider jiricek one for one for

I know what you are saying but a makar or hedman is not available in this poor def drafts.... this is a forwards draft... and no one is going to trade a first pairing defenseman like that... But look Vegas or Sea or even flo do not a defenseman like that. you can get by with solid depth... Look at poor toronto and their 4-6 defenseman... that is why they are out.... Plus I think guhle could become a star like slavin or Pesce and that could be all we need with matheson becoming such a good pp def and puck mover... So we will have to disagree but I would bet you the habs are looking for elite offesive talent at forward before they are looking at defense.. And both of our Rd have alot of potential.. Our potential makar in Hutson in a couple of years especially now that he is 5 '10"

Appreciate your perspective sir. Good luck in the draft!

And Reinbacher just went down with a knee injury at worlds... Damn.

I hear you. Potential is fine, but it's important to remember that not all prospects meet their potential. More will end up like Norlinder than you think.

I hope all our late 1sts and 2nds become superstar NHL players... But you can only win the lottery so many times.

Didn’t mean to come across that harsh. Just stressing that jiricek is probably the most untouchable player/prospect the jackets have