Montreal Canadiens general manager (GM) Kent Hughes knows the team needs scoring. With the 2024 NHL draft loaded with high-end defencemen expected to be picked in the top 10, the Canadiens are at a point where they have to prioritize need over the best player available (BPA) due to the lack of offence and abundance of defence on the team.
Canadiens Deep at Defence
With the Canadiens drafting anywhere from fifth to eighth, the BPA at that time could be a defenceman. This could be good or bad for Montreal, depending on which forwards get taken before the Habs’ pick and how high their pick will be. At the time of writing, the Habs are in the fifth spot to draft, which puts them in a perfect place to pick one of the highly skilled forwards expected to go in the top five. According to most draft rankings, three defencemen will be drafted in the top five, meaning the Canadiens should be able to get a coveted forward not named Macklin Celebrini, who’s expected to go first overall. The Hockey Writers’ April draft rankings after Celebrini show there are three defencemen before the fifth pick, suggesting a good chance the Canadiens get the forward they need.
The Canadiens are so deep at defence that they may have to trade one or two of them this summer to make room for younger players to make the team. They also have veteran players like David Savard and Mike Matheson, who must decide whether the team wants to keep until the trade deadline or move in the summer. Players such as Lane Hutson, Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher, and Logan Mailloux will all be looking to play in Montreal sooner rather than later.
Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide
Mailloux is already establishing himself as one of the better defencemen in the AHL as a rookie, and Hutson has dominated the NCAA. Montreal has young defencemen Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, and Jayden Struble who have earned their time with the big club, proof they belong in the NHL. With Montreal and the Laval Rocket almost full of defencemen, drafting another would cause more of a problem.
Canadiens Need to Improve Offence at Draft
Hughes has made moves to address scoring, but it hasn’t been enough. Due to injuries, the Habs are a one-line team of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Over the last two off-seasons, Hughes has added some young talent, although they have yet to prove themselves. In 2022, Hughes traded for Kirby Dach, a young center from the Chicago Blackhawks, and since he became a Hab, he has proven his worth.
The issue is he can’t stay healthy. Last season, he dealt with several injuries and missed 24 games but scored 38 points in 58 games, which was a career-high. In the 2023 offseason, Hughes acquired Alex Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche. So far, he has scored 30 points in 50 games, matching his season total from last year with the highly offensive Avalanche in 32 fewer games. But again, due to injuries, he missed 26 games. After these five players, however, the offence drops immensely.
Related: 4 Reasons the Canadiens’ 2023-24 Season Has Been Successful
Even with the top line’s success and two-thirds of the second line’s potential success, the Canadiens still need to round out their top six with a highly skilled player. Last season, they had a chance to draft skilled forwards and pass them on to round out their future defence. This season should be different, and they should be able to get an experienced player to round out the top six and give the fans what they have been starving for.
Several solid draft picks are available after Celebrini. Ivan Demidov is a highly skilled Russian forward who dominated the Russian Junior Hockey League (MHL), with many scouts touting he could be better than last draft’s Russian star Matvei Michkov. Cayden Lindstrom is a center from the Western Hockey League (WHL) who is not only big but has great hands and a strong shot. Cole Eiserman is a United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) player who is probably the best goal scorer in this year’s draft. Any of these players will significantly improve the Habs’ offense.
Canadiens Hughes Could Find Offence Other Ways
Hughes is known for making moves in the offseason, especially if he can acquire a young player through trade. With many rumours about the Anaheim Ducks wanting to move Trevor Zegras, he could try to swing a deal. Zegras will give the team an offensive boost, and depending on what the Ducks want in return, Hughes could still possibly draft even more offensive talent. However, if you’re trading for Zegras, you will probably have to give up your best draft pick, so that it would be one or the other.
Hughes’ best move would be to use his abundance of talented defencemen and try to move one or two with later draft picks to get a young, talented player. This will still leave him with the option to draft a skilled player and start to fill out his top nine. Depending on the player acquired, Hughes may not need to be as picky about the player he drafts, and he could even take a defenseman.
However, if you look at the Canadiens draft situation, they must draft a player with offensive skills. Last year, in a draft full of offensive talent, Hughes stuck to his plan to build the defence and goaltending and drafted Reinbacher fifth overall and three goaltenders. He faced some criticism for his top-five draft choice, but he had a plan and stuck to it, and so far, almost every move he has made has worked out. In his first two drafts, he went against the grain and drafted the not-so-popular pick. In 2022, he drafted Slafkovsky first overall in lieu of Shayne Wright and Logan Cooley, and last year, he selected Reinbacher instead of a skilled forward. This draft should be no different, thick with defensemen, and it should be when Hughes drafts a forward. That forward may not be the BPA, but he will undoubtedly be what the Canadiens need.
