Montreal Canadiens Rumour: Marc Bergevin Open to Moving 1st Round Pick

The Montreal Canadiens are rumoured to be open to trading their first round pick next week.

The Montreal Canadiens have not traded their first round pick since 2008. They moved the 25th ovearll pick in 2008 as well as a second round pick in 2009 to the Calgary Flames for Alex Tanguay and a fifth round pick in 2008.

Tanguay played just one season in Montreal, but he did score 41 points in 50 games. That was the infamous centennial season that started so well until a plethora of injuries (including one to Tanguay) resulted in the whole thing collapsing.

Since then, the Habs have made their first round pick every year with some mixed results. Their next six first round picks after the trade for Tanguay were Louis Leblanc, Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Alex Galchenyuk, Michael McCarron and Nikita Scherbak.

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That’s uhh, not a lot of value. Since then, the Habs have taken Noah Juulsen, Mikhail Sergachev, Ryan Poehling, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield. That looks a lot more promising, but there was a time we thought Galchenyuk would be a first line centre and Scherbak would be in the top six with him while Tinordi and Beaulieu played top four minutes.

So, we will have to wait and see.

We will also have to wait and see what Marc Bergevin has in store for the 2020 first round pick. Recent reports have suggested the Habs general manager is open to trading that pick for the first time in his eight year tenure with the team.

Pierre Lebrun of TSN reported on their Insider Trading segment that the Canadiens are looking to move that first round pick to add a top six forward.

There is no question that the Habs could use some help in their top six. Once again, the Canadiens found it tough to score goals in the postseason. This has been the story for Carey Price’s entire career.

Against the Philadelphia Flyers in this year’s postseason, the Habs managed 13 goals in six games. That doesn’t sound great, but it’s even worse when you consider they have two five goal outbursts. That means, in their four losses, the Habs scored a total of three goals.

They definitely need a top six goal scoring forward. But is it worth moving a first round pick for that player?

It could be, if we are talking about a young goal scorer who will stay in the organization for years. Should the Habs be willing to move their first round pick in a package for Patrik Laine? Of course. Should they trade if for a goal scoring winger who has one year left on his contract like Kyle Palmieri or Brandon Saad? No.

I trust the Bergevin isn’t suddenly going to sell off his top prospects are early picks after building up the prospect cupboard for the past three years.

It does tell me that the Habs management team is shifting focus to winning instead of building. That is interesting timing since the entire first line could be free agents following next season.

We will have to wait and see what Bergevin decides to do. However, with every team losing revenue due to the pandemic, they could be more willing to move a great player for a first round pick. Obviously, Bergevin is ready and waiting to see what options come available.