Dramatic Turnaround: Things are Really not Looking Good for the Canadiens!

What a season it was for the Florida Panthers in 2022-2023!

After being a top 10 worst team in the overall standings at the beginning of January, head coach Paul Maurice's team woke up in the final months of the season to conclude the last eight games of the campaign with a 6-1-1 record, barely qualifying for the playoffs, just ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

They also shocked everyone by overcoming a 1-3 deficit in the first round against the league's best team, the Boston Bruins. Since then, the Panthers haven't known how to lose. They now lead their second-round series 2-0 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They have thus won their last five playoff games, even though they haven't always been the better team on the ice. They always find a way to come back in the matches and ultimately pull out a victory.


Canadiens executives and fans are holding their breath right now, as Florida's success has a direct impact on the first-round pick held by the Montreal organization.

By qualifying for the playoffs, the Panthers caused the Canadiens to lose a guaranteed top 16 pick in the draft. However, if the team were to be eliminated during the first two playoff rounds, this pick would be solidified at the 17th position.

On the other hand, with a comfortable 2-0 lead, things are starting to look not so good for the Tricolore. Indeed, if the Panthers were to win their series against the Leafs, the Canadiens' second first-round pick would drop from 17th to anywhere between 29th and 32nd, depending on the final results.


Ouch!

As Marc-Antoine Godin of The Athletic mentions, we're really not talking about the same range of prospects between the middle of the first round and the last four selections of it.

This could definitely change Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton's plans in a very negative way.

Credit: HabsolumentFan