The worst-case scenario is confirmed for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens

Unfortunately for Kent Hughes and Canadiens fans, the worst-case scenario has just been confirmed, as the first-round selection obtained in last year's trade of Ben Chiarot has officially plummeted to the 31st or 32nd spot, depending on the result of the final showdown.

This was quite a turn of events, as this pick had cracked the top-10 as recently as last January, before the Panthers' meteoric rise following a rallying call from Paul Maurice's squad.

They were the last team to qualify for the postseason, where the first-round pick would have remained at the 17th spot had this team been eliminated in the first two rounds.

You know the rest, a spectacular comeback against the mighty Boston Bruins, who had nonetheless finished with 43 more points in the standings and were leading the series 3 to 1.

The stunning performances of Sergei Bobrovsky allowed his team to soar over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round before finally sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.

Of course, for the Habs, the quality of prospects found in the last two spots of the first round does not equal those who could have ended up in the initial 17th spot.

Hughes will therefore have an important decision to make whether to trade this pick for immediate help, to pair this pick with his 37th selection to move up in the draft, or to leave things as they are.

Credit: Rumeursdetransaction.com