Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach has successful knee surgery in New York

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The long road to recovery begins now for the Canadiens’ Kirby Dach.

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The 22-year-old forward had surgery Tuesday in New York to repair torn ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee suffered when he was checked into the boards by defenceman Jarred Tinordi during the second game of the season — a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Bell Centre on Oct. 14.

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The surgery was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery by Dr. Robert Max and the Canadiens expect Dach to make a full recovery before the start of next season.

Dach had two assists in the two games he played this season. Last season, he set career highs in goals, assists and points with 14-24-38 totals in 58 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

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Injuries have been a problem for Dach since the Chicago Blackhawks selected him with the third overall pick at the 2019 NHL Draft. Dach fractured his right wrist while playing for Team Canada in an exhibition game against Russia in December 2020 as the teams prepared for the world junior championship. That injury also required surgery and sidelined Dach for three months.

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After three disappointing seasons in Chicago, the Blackhawks traded Dach to the Canadiens at the 2022 NHL Draft in exchange for a first-round pick (centre Frank Nazar) and a third-round pick (right-winger Gavin Hayes).

Tuesday was a travel day for the Canadiens as they flew from Las Vegas to Arizona after losing 3-2 to the Golden Knights in a shootout Monday night. The Canadiens will play the Coyotes on Thursday (10 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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