Kirby Dach: The reason (probably) why he turned down his qualifying offer

Kirby Dach declined the Canadiens’ qualifying offer ($4 million) for the 26-27 season.
The result?
The player will have to go before an arbitrator to determine his next annual salary in the NHL. But as ironic as it may seem, Kirby's decision may not be based entirely on the salary of his next contract…
The thing is, the Canadiens' qualifying offer to Dach was… a two-part offer.
Usually, qualifying offers made to National Hockey League players are single-part, but…
But

It's been a year now since Zachary Bolduc was traded to the Canadiens. In his first season with the team, the Quebec native scored 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games before adding three goals and seven points in 19 playoff games.
He started the season on fire, but things got tougher after that. That said, we still saw some promising moments.
This summer, Bolduc and the Habs will need to reach an agreement so the forward can secure a contract for next season. Because one thing is clear: he's stil

One story to watch in the short and medium term is that of Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. The All-Star is currently playing under a one-year contract worth $7.25 million. He has no contract with the Orioles beyond this season. It should be noted, however, that he will still be under the team's control through 2027. Starting in 2028, he will become a free agent and will be able to continue his career with the team of his choice—which, of course, includes the Orioles, if he makes

Over the past few days, two hostile offers have been submitted (and signed) in the NHL. The Devils offered Barrett Hayton a one-year, $4.775 million contract, while the Flyers offered Leo Carlsson a five-year deal worth $18 million per year.
Obviously, the second one is generating a lot more buzz than the first.
That said, the deadline for decisions is approaching in both cases. The Mammoth have until Wednesday to make their decision, while the Ducks must do so by Friday. However, Andy Stricklan

Oliver Kapanen had a pretty remarkable rookie season. The young center scored 22 goals playing alongside Ivan Demidov at center… but he completely ran out of steam toward the end of the season.
And in the playoffs, he was benched more often than not.That makes it hard to fully assess his season. While some see him as a player who could hold down the fort at center on the second line, others view him as a player whose production was almost entirely dependent on Ivan Demidov's talent.
And i

Although winning the division is the preferred route to the playoffs, the New York Yankees still sit atop the American League wild-card standings and hold a three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians.
All this despite the Bronx Bombers' recent slump. In fact, the Yankees are heading to Tampa Bay to face the Rays on the back of nine losses in their last ten games.
They've posted a record of just four wins against a staggering 13 losses in their last 17 games, which has cost them first place in

Munetaka Murakami is making progress
He'll be playing in Triple-A this week.
White Sox star Munetaka Murakami joins the Charlotte Knights on an MLB rehab assignment this week! pic.twitter.com/ap6avjb9Y2
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) July 6, 2026
We imagine the Pope will be keeping an eye on this.
Pope Leo XIV told @AJPierzynski12 that he's paying attention to the White Sox this year.pic.twitter.com/bK1GKjczLz
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 6, 2026
The All-Star Game

There’s a lot of synergy happening between BTS and the World Cup on the European leg of their Arirang World Tour. The tour kicked off a couple of weeks ago in Madrid, when Spain was playing Uruguay. The following week they were in Brussels performing when Belgium played that crazy ass match against Senegal when they were down two goals past the 80 minute mark and ended up winning. Since then they’ve been in London and last night England advanced to the quarterfinals. Munich is where

Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers a few weeks ago.
The Senators felt it was time to move on, and that's no coincidence either.
We know the Sens' locker room reportedly pushed for his departure… but it goes even deeper than that. And there's a reason why the team's captain wasn't universally liked in the locker room.
Elliotte Friedman talked about it on his podcast: the players were simply… fed up with Brady Tkachuk.
The guy may be a really good hockey player, but we

It is one of the lines I’ll always remember from my Greek mythology course in universe – said by Athena but also often used to describe Athena: that she is famous among the gods for her wisdom but also for her cunning, which is why she was partial to Odysseus, the wily Greek.Who but Zendaya, then, to play Athena in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, opening next Friday and the press tour now underway. Shameless self promotion: I was in New York last week to cover the junket for E

There's still some time left before summer ends.
Today is July 7… and we're still in for several more weeks of summer heat, which is good news in itself.
But I'm saying this mainly because the Canadiens still have time to make a move ahead of next season. And no, I'm not talking about signing a KHL defenseman…
We're all (eagerly) waiting for Kent Hughes' next move, and on that note, Elliotte Friedman threw a few names out there in the latest episode of his “32 Thoughts”

My colleague Pascal Harvey recently wrote an article about how Juan Soto clearly seems to be missing the Yankees. And he's right.
The Mets missed the playoffs in 2025, and it'll be the same story in 2026. The lack of leadership in Queens is absolutely glaring.
And it starts with the relationship between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.
For months, there have been rumors of a strained relationship between the two men. It was said that there was tension between the two stars in 2025.
Everyone in th

The NFL draft often holds its share of surprises, and Carnell Tate experienced this firsthand.The young wide receiver didn't expect to hear his name called so early in the draft and had instead believed his professional career would begin with the Washington Commanders.
When asked recently to reflect on that memorable day, Tate explained that he had a pretty clear idea of which team seemed most interested in him. According to him, several conversations suggested that Washington would select him

I kind of like that the TNT wedding has kicked up some conversation around weddings in general because there’s such a wide range of opinions. The guest list is massive but I’ve been to multiple weddings with 500 guests and a few with 700-800 guests. I’ve been a bridesmaid 8 times, including one bridal party where I was one of 26. A large wedding is very cost-prohibitive, so I don’t know if Taylor will start a trend there, but I did notice some guests were in white.
OK I&r

I went to bed much later than I intended to last night because I was too wired after that wild World Cup match between England and Mexico. Everything about it was entertaining, from the dramatics on the pitch to what was happening before the game to Scotland hilariously entering the chat.Everyone in Scotland has suddenly discovered their Mexican ancestrypic.twitter.com/yfWAkQUIdZ— Shaun 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸 (@shaunvlog_) July 5,

There's an interesting rumor circulating on social media right now.
According to player agent Jeremy Garrett of 2112 Hockey Agency—who has sources in Russia—the Canadiens are reportedly close to reaching an agreement with Reilly Walsh on contract terms for next season.
Garrett states in his tweet that this isn't confirmed, but that we can expect an announcement from the Canadiens on the matter. He also mentions that it's reportedly a one-season, two-part contract:I can confirm this n

Northern Venezuela was rocked by two earthquakes on June 24. The quakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 on the magnitude scale, respectively, caused severe damage throughout the region, with the cities of La Guaira and Caracas suffering the most extensive destruction.
Since then, the death toll has continued to rise, with more than 3,000 people reported dead and more than 16,000 injured.
And this has had repercussions even in Major League Baseball. In fact, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Eliezer Alfonzo

This morning, a few Canadiens players practiced in Brossard.
Who was there?
Our colleague Patrick Guillet, who was on site, spotted players like Ivan Demidov, Alexander Zharovsky, and Owen Beck on the ice at the CN Complex. The offseason is in full swing, but it's still interesting to see the young players training in town.A few Canadiens players, including Ivan Demidov, Alexander Zharovsky, and Owen Beck, are on the ice this morning under the supervision of Adam Nicholas. @DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo

I admittedly wasn’t following the TNT wedding as closely as I could have been this weekend so I did not see any pap shots of Jennifer Lopez either on her way to Madison Square Garden or leaving after the event, and if you have, please let me know.
The reason I’m talking about this has to do with how we know she was there. I know she was there because she shared it on Instagram.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)
She doesn’t name them but like so ma

Kent Hughes needs to give himself the means to make moves. And to receive, you have to give.
Of course, players like Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky are, by necessity, names that come up often in discussions on this topic.
We'll see how this plays out.
But one thing you can't take away from him is that he's once again managed to convince a top young prospect to take a pay cut compared to market value in order to sign him to a long-term deal.
We're talking about Ivan Demidov and his $9.15 mi

After their dismal first half of the current season, the New York Mets are expected to join the ranks of the sellers by the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
A catcher could then find himself in a new place. But which one?
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Luis Torrens could remain in Queens after the Mets granted him a contract extension earlier this season. However, that extension also makes him a more attractive prospect to other MLB clubs than Francisco Alvarez.
Even though Torre

Bad Bunny was not at the TNT wedding this weekend in New York, because he’s on tour and was performing in France over the weekend and continuing to make history on the Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour. At nearly every stop he’s broken records for ticket sales by a Latin artist, including in Paris, just after doing the same in London.
It was on stage in London when he shared his sympathies with the people of Venezuela after the devastation from the earthquakes.But Benito

While Travis Kelce is still playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, many observers believe the veteran is already planning his future off the field.Speculation has intensified following a highly publicized event over the Fourth of July weekend, where several influential figures from the world of sports television gathered.
According to several analysts, the notable presence of executives, hosts, and commentators from the NFL's major broadcasters was no coincidence. Representatives from Fox, Amazon,

No fewer than 15 players have requested that an independent arbitrator determine their next annual salary in the NHL.
The Robertson brothers, Jet Greaves, Peyton Krebs, Akira Schmid, Trevor Zegras, among others…
And Kirby Dach!
My first reaction when I heard this news: Come on! You've got to be kidding me! Who do you think you are, Kirby?Kirby Dach to Kent Hughes, like…:
“I want more than $4 million if you want me to stay with you in 2026–27. I'm worth more than that.&r

Dear Gossips, The celebrity I thought about the most this weekend was the one coming through my headphones, in her FIFTH DECADE of coming through my headphones – in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and now it’s 2026 … and what’s coming through my headphones aren’t her old bops but brand new tracks on a brand new album that is, incredibly, not just her best album in 20 years, but is already widely considered to be among her best, PERIOD.Madonna, of course. Who else?Confe

Kent Hughes may still make moves in the trade market. But that won't be easy for a general manager who has several issues to address right now.
At this point, it's doubtful he'll be able to land a defenseman to pair with Lane Hutson, a physical forward, a third-line center, AND a top-6 winger.
That's why we've decided to look within the organization and identify five players who could fill those roles if the GM isn't able to make a move. His job is to add players to help the team… but it

Something really strange is going on with the Blue Jays in 2026. I don’t know exactly what it is, but nothing is working.
Actually, we do know what it is: the stars aren't hitting, starting with Vladdy. But we're wondering where this lack of power is coming from.
Take, for example, the series in Seattle this past weekend. In 26 of the 27 innings in the series, the Toronto offense was unable to score.
John Schneider's team was lucky to win Friday's game 2-0, thanks to two runs in the third

The matchup between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was marked by two major injuries to star quarterbacks.Both Zach Collaros and Bo Levi Mitchell were forced to leave the game, leaving their teams to rely on backups in a match full of twists and turns.
The first to leave the game was Zach Collaros. The Blue Bombers veteran took a hard sack early in the second quarter, forcing him to head to the sidelines after suffering an upper-body injury. Although he was able to walk una

It's now July 6. The NHL offseason has been underway for a few weeks.
We all agree that there are still some active issues (hostile bids, free agents, and the trade market), but we also agree that things have quieted down.
Teams can still make roster moves, but it's not as straightforward.
That made me want to revisit an article I wrote a month ago to see, in practice, just how much the Canadiens still had to do this summer.
The article in question? “The 12 Tasks of Kent Hughes and Jeff Go

The Leo Carlsson situation continues to be the talk of the NHL.
For those who may have missed it, the Flyers recently made a hostile offer to the young Ducks forward. If Anaheim decides not to match it, the organization will receive four first-round picks as compensation.
All signs point to the Ducks already preparing for this eventuality.
According to David Pagnotta at Hello Hockey, the Ducks are reportedly considering what to do with those four picks. The idea isn't necessarily to keep them al