With the Boston Bruins eliminating the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Montreal Canadiens have an idea of where their draft pick will be at the 2019 NHL Draft.
The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs has had an overlying theme since starting in April, that being: the underdog is not out. The first round saw the early eliminations of the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals to name a few while surprise favourites such as the Carolina Hurricanes have risen to the top. However, it looks as if this theme doesn’t apply to the Boston Bruins who ironically did the Montreal Canadiens a favour by taking out the Columbus Blue Jackets in Monday night’s match.
Most Habs fans were likely rooting against the Bruins because it’s the Bruins. There is way too much bad blood between either fan base given the series’ the two teams have had over the years. However, there was a benefit in having Boston win over Columbus.
Think back to one of the first moves Marc Bergevin did ahead of the 2018-19 season. The smoke around Max Pacioretty given everything that came out over the summer made his eventual trade a foregone conclusion, and the deal ended up happening late at night (Eastern Time).
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The Montreal Canadiens sent their captain off to play for the Vegas Golden Knights while adding Nick Suzuki, Tomas Tatar, and a 2019 second-round pick in the process.
Given what the Blue Jackets did ahead of the trade deadline to make the playoffs and go for a run, it was likely that pick would end up being a late one. After their elimination, we have an idea of where the selection may be.
Montreal’s lucky number will be 48th or 49th overall via Columbus in the second round. The final decider depends on the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.
If one of the Stars or Avalanche win their series against the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks respectively, it’ll be at 48. If both teams win and move on to the Western Conference Final, the destination will be 49. Either way, the Montreal Canadiens have three picks in the top 50 which isn’t a bad total in the slightest.
It’s not as much as last year’s overhaul, but if Trevor Timmins and the rest of the scouting staff can repeat their success, then it’ll be another solid draft class for the Habs.
There haven’t been too many blustering stars in that window over the years. The most recent is likely goaltender Carter Hart who was taken 48th overall in 2016. However, two names will stick out to the Montreal Canadiens: Xavier Ouellet was selected at 48 back in 2011 by the Detroit Red Wings, and the Nashville Predators took a flyer on Habs captain Shea Weber 49th overall in 2003.
It just goes to show that the onus will be on the staff to turn the pick, and all picks for that matter, into players the Montreal Canadiens can use. There are no guarantees in this part of the business, but it would be interesting to see the Habs add a future star with the selection they acquire to send one of their former ones out.