The Athletic’s Hockey Show is a smart way for hockey fans to invest their limited podcast listening time and the last edition (June 14, 2024) is no exception. This episode was particularly interesting for Montreal Canadiens fans with Arpon Basu being there to discuss various topics. If you’ve missed it, here’s my rundown of what was said and my opinion on those developments.
Cayden Lindstrom’s Health
In the show’s opening, Corey Pronman mentioned that highly touted prospect Cayden Lindstrom’s back injury involved a herniated disc. While it was no secret the potential top-five pick was bothered by a back injury last season, especially since he only played 32 games, nobody had explicitly said that was the root cause.
However, there is no need to panic as they added Lindstrom had undertaken tests that stressed his back at the Combine, and he didn’t look bothered by the injury. I’m convinced the Canadiens have conducted a thorough examination of the youngster’s file and injury track record, if they do decide to go for the Medicine Hat Tigers’ player, it will mean they are confident the issue is over and done with.
The bigger worry for general manager Kent Hughes and his team has got to be who the four teams in front of them will be picking. Of course, Macklin Celebrini will be gone as the first-overall pick but who the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and Columbus Blue Jackets will go for remains a mystery.
Canadiens’ Pick at Fifth Overall
Considering Montreal can’t know who will be picked by the Blackhawks, Ducks, and Blue Jackets, it makes it harder for them to get a sense of who will be available when it’s their turn to take to the stage. That’s nothing out of the ordinary though, it’s the very nature of a draft unless you’re picking right at the top.
A little less than two weeks before the draft, Basu believes the Canadiens will be able to pick a forward since there are several remarkable defencemen up for grabs in this crop of prospects. The journalist even goes as far as saying that perhaps that’s why they drafted David Reinbacher last season. The thinking is that teams in the first few spots in the upcoming draft will go for those defencemen, meaning that top forwards will therefore be available to Hughes’ team a few positions down.
Who would those top forwards be? Basu believes Montreal is interested in both Lindstrom and Ivan Demidov. The organization loves the size of Lindstrom; at the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine, the former was registered at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds. Picking him would somewhat make up for the fact that Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are not physically imposing. A top six that would include Juraj Slafkovsky, a healthy Kirby Dach, and Lindstrom, would feature the kind of big bodies who tend to shine in playoff hockey. Furthermore, if Dach just can’t remain healthy, Lindstrom could eventually replace him in the lineup.
Related: Canadiens “Wine & Dine” Cayden Lindstrom at Combine; Should They Draft Him?
As for Demidov, even though he is signed with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for one more year, he doesn’t have the same kind of red flags as Matvei Michkov. Basu makes it clear the Canadiens did not like Michkov last season, his lack of competition at times and other comments received about the player eventually got the organization to exclude him from their potential picks. He also highlights the fact that when scouting him on video, there were times when the puck was in his end for a while and yet, he wasn’t even seen in the frame.
While I think there’s always a certain risk in picking players from Russia who have only been scouted on video, I believe Demidov is less of a gamble. The fact he’s got one year left to play with SKA is an encouraging sign as well. In the past though, KHL teams have been known to pressure young players to get them to sign an extension. How do they pressure them? Less ice time, no special teams, fewer opportunities to shine and develop, the list goes on. Alexander Romanov was submitted to this kind of treatment before leaving CSKA Moscow for Montreal. If the Canadiens decide to draft the Russian, it will mean they are confident he’ll be crossing the pond sooner rather than later.
In the event the two players are picked before the Canadiens’ turn, Basu thinks they’ll go for the best player available rather than pick a second-tier forward, even if it means picking another blueliner. While I agree this would probably be the case in that scenario, I would understand why the fans would be disappointed. Whoever Montreal picks, they will hopefully get a player who’s near NHL-ready.
Trading Time?
The final topic discussed is the likelihood Hughes will be moving some of his young defencemen this offseason. Basu believes Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher are in the top tier of the defence corps and it would take an amazing return to move one of them. He even added the organization will probably try to sign Guhle to a lengthy extension once he’s eligible, in other words, in early July. As for Logan Mailloux, he’s not far behind for the Canadiens insider.
Then, you’ve got players like Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble and Justin Barron who may be likelier trade bait according to Basu and he adds he believes the team likes Arber Xhekaj too much to move him. Of course, he’s not suggesting Harris, Struble or Barron could fetch top-six help, but he does suggest that perhaps, one or two of those could be packaged with the 26th overall pick to move up from that spot in the draft.
While those players cannot fetch a huge return, he adds they are proven NHL defenders and even if they are on the bottom pairing, they could still move up in the roster if need be. He mentions the fact the Edmonton Oilers are currently in the Stanley Cup Final, but they’re still trying to assess who their sixth defenceman is.
That’s an excellent suggestion from Basu there, I wouldn’t even put it past Hughes to trade up with that kind of package before trading up again to pick another promising forward like Tij Iginla, for instance.
I’m now really looking forward to the 2024 Draft to be honest, in the last few years, watching Hughes wheeling and dealing has been almost as entertaining as some of the Canadiens’ best games. There’s also been rumours lately that Hughes is attempting to trade Mike Matheson but I would be shocked if he did. Getting rid of him would only put more pressure on Lane Hutson to perform right away. There’s enough pressure in this market to let the kids take things in progressively…time will tell if Hughes agrees with me.
