Montreal Canadiens Already Loaded With 2021 NHL Draft Picks
Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has been stockpiling draft picks lately and is already loaded with selections for next year.
The Montreal Canadiens have made a clear and direct switch to building through the draft for the past three years. In 2017, the Habs had seven picks, but two of them were in the second round and they had two more in the third round.
Since then, the Canadiens have been really stocking up on draft picks.
The 2018 NHL Draft saw them select 11 new players. This included a trio of picks in the second round and a pair of picks in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. They made ten of the first 133 selections that year.
The 2019 NHL Draft was not much different, with the Canadiens adding ten new prospects to their cupboards. They didn’t have as many early picks, with just a single pick in each of the first and second rounds, but they did add 21 players combined between the 2018 and 2019 draft weekends.
The 2020 NHL Draft saw the Habs holding 14 selections at one point. Marc Bergevin decided to move out a handful of them just before and during the draft and ended up making a total of eight picks.
It sure looks like the team is loaded with picks once again for next year. They haven’t moved out any of their own picks, and have added an extra pick in the second round as well as two extra picks in each of the third, fourth and fifth rounds. That gives the Canadiens 14 selections at next year’s event already.
This will give the Canadiens a plethora of options as the trade deadline approaches next season.
Bergevin once held 14 picks for the 2020 NHL Draft, but moved a 5th round pick for Joel Edmunson, traded a third round pick for Jake Allen and added another third round pick as part of the package to acquire Josh Anderson.
He is clearly setting the Habs up to compete in the 2020-21 season. He also built up a great group of young players and prospects that should help this team remain competitive for many years. Thanks to his stockpiling of picks for the 2021 NHL Draft, he won’t be forced to move prospects at the trade deadline is he wants to add more reinforcements to his roster.
The Canadiens are loaded with picks for the 2021 NHL Draft, but don’t expect them to keep all of them.