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The Canadiens' first pick is worth a small fortune
The website The Athletic covers the entire NHL, with a dedicated journalist for each of the 32 teams.
Every year, they engage in a little game immediately after the draft lottery. A journalist covering a team acts as the general manager and selects who they would draft.
For the Canadiens, it's no surprise that Arpon Basu took part in the game, and he made quite a move. Basu is deeply involved with the team throughout the season, so he knows what he's talking about and understands the club's intentions.
Here are the picks made by the various journalist GMs:
San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini
Chicago Blackhawks: Ivan Demidov
Anaheim Ducks: Artyom Levshunov
Columbus Blue Jackets: Cayden Lindstrom
Calgary Flames: Zeev Buium*
Utah: Anton Silayev
Ottawa Senators: Zayne Parekh
Seattle Kraken: Sam Dickinson
Montreal Canadiens: Tij Iginla*
New Jersey Devils: Berkly Catton
Buffalo Sabres: Cole Eiserman
Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Yakemchuk
Minnesota Wild: Adam Jiricek
San Jose Sharks: Beckett Sennecke
Detroit Red Wings: Konsta Helenius
St. Louis Blues: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
*Transaction completed
Chicago Blackhawks: Ivan Demidov
Anaheim Ducks: Artyom Levshunov
Columbus Blue Jackets: Cayden Lindstrom
Calgary Flames: Zeev Buium*
Utah: Anton Silayev
Ottawa Senators: Zayne Parekh
Seattle Kraken: Sam Dickinson
Montreal Canadiens: Tij Iginla*
New Jersey Devils: Berkly Catton
Buffalo Sabres: Cole Eiserman
Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Yakemchuk
Minnesota Wild: Adam Jiricek
San Jose Sharks: Beckett Sennecke
Detroit Red Wings: Konsta Helenius
St. Louis Blues: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
*Transaction completed
Arpon Basu decided to trade the Canadiens' first pick, 5th overall, to the Calgary Flames, and here's why:
"With Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom selected with the first four picks, the worst-case scenario presented itself to the Canadiens. We had to decide whether to choose a forward at 5th overall, select a right-handed defenseman - Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk were available - or trade down, acquire additional draft capital, and get the forward we wanted from the start.
We chose option number 3, made the trade with Calgary, added a third first-round pick (in addition to the Jets' first-round pick acquired in the Sean Monahan trade), and selected Tij Iginla from the Kelowna Rockets, a playoff-style forward who should help fill out the Canadiens' top 6 in about two years." - Arpon Basu
We chose option number 3, made the trade with Calgary, added a third first-round pick (in addition to the Jets' first-round pick acquired in the Sean Monahan trade), and selected Tij Iginla from the Kelowna Rockets, a playoff-style forward who should help fill out the Canadiens' top 6 in about two years." - Arpon Basu
Obviously, the Canadiens need forwards, and unfortunately, the 2024 draft is richer in defensemen. What irony.
According to the exercise, the Canadiens would trade the 5th pick for Calgary's 9th pick and Vancouver's first pick obtained in the Elias Lindholm trade (to be determined).
So, the Canadiens would have three first-round picks and the opportunity to select Tij Iginla, a player they like a lot.
Personally, I wouldn't make this trade. The chances of Iginla being selected earlier and Kent Hughes being left empty-handed are too great. The GM won't take that risk.
| POLL | ||
MAI 8 | 262 ANSWERS The Canadiens' first pick is worth a small fortune In your opinion, should Kent Hughes trade back if he doesn't get the desired pick at 5th overall? | ||
| Yes | 156 | 59.5 % |
| No | 106 | 40.5 % |
| List of polls | ||