At the start of the week, Arpon Basu from The Athletic and Marc-Antoine Godin from Radio-Canada mentioned in their Basu and Godin Notebook podcast that they do not see the Montreal Canadiens making the pick at 26th overall. They believe the team’s management will swing another creative trade or move up in the draft. Basu believes there’s a 75% chance they trade the pick, either to move up or to trade for another player like they did with Kirby Dach or Alex Newhook. Let’s take a look at what they believe could be the Canadiens’ plan.
Trading up to Get a Higher-Ranked Prospect
Moving up from the 26th position is no easy task, but Kent Hughes has shown in the past that he can be very creative in trading. The deals in which he acquired both Dach and Newhook are prime examples of the GM’s prowess for trading. However, if Hughes doesn’t have that kind of deal on his radar and if he hasn’t identified another young target that could be pried away from their team via trade and benefit from a new beginning in Montreal, there are other options.
As Basu and Godin reveal in their podcast, the Canadiens took Cole Eiserman to dinner during the draft combine and they believe that’s an indication Montreal could want to move up to acquire the US National Team Development Program product. Of course, an invite to dinner doesn’t guarantee a thing but it’s at least a significant demonstration of interest.
Dividing the 2024 Draft into tiers, the podcast hosts believe there are around 14 players in the first tier of the draft and then a second tier which ends before pick 26. Montreal’s mission then becomes finding a team who could be interested in what they’re offering (essentially young defencemen and draft picks) and who could be after a player in the 26th pick range. It’s a well-known fact that there’s congestion on the Canadiens’ blue line right now and even more so in the next few years with other players being ready for the big league like Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson, and David Reinbacher.
Supposing the Canadiens grab Cayden Lindstrom at fifth overall, it could be an idea to look into his teammate with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Andrew Basha. His THW draft profile mentions he’s one of the best playmakers in the 2024 Draft and can create plays out of thin air.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft: Options for Canadiens’ Late 1st-Round Pick
Right now, the Canadiens have 12 picks in seven rounds in the coming draft and another 12 at the 2025 Draft including two first-round picks. That’s just too many, so we can expect some action on the draft floor unless Hughes takes care of business before then.
Trading for a Young Player in Need of a Fresh Start
Identifying a potential target for that kind of trade is no easy task. When Hughes acquired Dach and Newhook, fans and media alike were taken by surprise. This year, we’ve been hearing a lot of Trevor Zegras to Montreal chatter and there was also some traction on a possible Necas deal. While I don’t think the Canadiens are ready to fork out the Anaheim Ducks’ asking price for Zegras (one of Kaiden Guhle or David Reinbacher), dealing with the Hurricanes might be easier.
Brady Skjei is a pending unrestricted free agent this offseason and chances are, he’ll want to cash in elsewhere and see what other teams are willing to offer him. If he were to move, there would be an important hole in the Hurricanes’ defence corps and perhaps a trade between Montreal and Carolina could happen.
I know there’s history there but both Marc Bergevin and Don Waddell have moved on now, so it’s high time to bury the hatched, especially if the Hurricanes have a pressing need on the backend.
In an ideal world, someone like Seth Jarvis would be a great target for Montreal, but unless the return is amazing, I don’t see that happening any time soon. However, Necas wants more ice time and a top-six role, something he believes he can handle, and at 25, he would fit in with the Canadiens’ core. Suzuki will be 25 in August and Caufield is 23. Timeline-wise, it could work, but would Necas be amenable to coming to Montreal and landing behind Suzuki and Caufield in the salary structure?
Carolina has got plenty of picks for this year’s draft with nine picks, but they only have five for the 2025 Draft, it’s another area where the Canadiens could lend a hand. Chances are there will be plenty of suitors for Necas though and he could be overpriced to Hughes’ taste.
Whatever happens on the draft floor or throughout the offseason, I fully expect the Canadiens’ top-six to have improved for the 2024-25 season, and not only because Dach is healthy (touch wood). While Montreal is not ready to be a Stanley Cup contender yet, Hughes and Jeff Gorton were clear at the team’s post-mortem for this season that their Canadiens would be expected to be in the mix and fighting for a playoff spot for much longer next season and the players being a year older won’t do it on its own.
