The NHL draft starts in an hour, and it’s already been established that Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov will go 1 and 2 to Buffalo and Carolina respectively. With that in mind, the draft really starts with the Montreal Canadiens at #3. The Canadiens have so many options right now, with 10 picks at their disposal. Let’s see the options they have and analyze which is more likely to happen.
- Pacioretty traded: It really looks like the captain is on his way out in Montreal. So much speculation going around and general manager Marc Bergevin is receiving calls left and right on his former 35 goal scorer coming off his worst season since 2010. According to Pierre Lebrun of TSN, four teams have made inquiries on Pacioretty, and talks may heat up as the draft gets closer.
2. Habs draft a solid player at #3: Marc Bergevin has said that he does not plan on trading the pick, but is listening to what teams are offering and seeing what’s out there. It seems they are locked in on two players: Boston University sophomore Brady Tkachuk and Finnish centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Most mock drafts have the Canadiens selecting Kotkaniemi, because of their desired need at centre, which is a position they have been lacking since they had Saku Koivu. We’ll see what happens.
3. Habs trade the #3 pick for help at centre: It seems unlikely, but let’s assume Bergevin is considering to trade the pick for some immediate help at centre. It has been widely reported that the Canadiens have interest in Buffalo Sabres centre Ryan O’Reilly. The Sabres want the 3rd overall pick as a package deal in return for O’Reilly, but according to Bob Mckenzie of TSN, it’s very unlikely that Bergevin trades the pick for O’Reilly.
4. Trade the pick down for assets: Pierre Lebrun reported earlier the Canadiens have been getting calls from other teams in the top 10, like Chicago, Detroit and Arizona, who are looking to move up in the draft. Bergevin hasn’t hinted that he would like to trade down, but it’s an option to look at and see if it’s worth it. There are players in the latter part of the first round that Bergevin likes, so maybe it could happen, or they just stay and pick the player they feel will make an impact in the near future.
Right now, anything could happen between now and the start of the draft. Maybe Pacioretty doesn’t get traded, maybe he does. The draft begins with Montreal, so let see whether Bergevin can pull off something extraordinary and make fans believe in him and the team again. It’s going to be a good one.
JV Sports Blog 