Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin has never traded away his first round draft pick while running the Habs.
In fact, the Canadiens as an organization have used their first round pick every year since 2008, when they traded it for Alex Tanguay ahead of the centennial season.
This year could be different though. The Canadiens just made a run to the Stanley Cup Final and that could give Bergevin the incentive to try and load up for next season.
Also, the team lost captain and top pairing defender Shea Weber who will be on long term injured reserve for all of next season and possibly won’t play again. Trying to replace Weber is impossible, but someone is going to have to come in and play top four minutes next season while shutting things down defensively and also possibly adding some offence.
That won’t be an easy hole to fill, but Bergevin may finally go ahead and move his biggest draft asset to do so. After their lengthy postseason run, the Canadiens hold the 31st overall pick, so it’s not the most desirable selection, but it still has plenty of value.
We don’t often see trades involving top ten picks at the NHL Draft, though that doesn’t stop the rumour makers from tossing out wild ideas. However, later round picks are often flipped around and the Canadiens are likely to strongly consider it this year.
It might be the only way to add a top four defenceman to the team for next season. Also, they currently have 11 draft picks including two in the second round, two in the third round and three in the fourth round. So, if they were to move their first round pick, they would still have plenty of draft capital to add prospects.
With the hockey world thrown into chaos last season, many prospects didn’t play many games and some played none at all. This is going to lead to some very different draft lists between teams and the opportunity for the Canadiens to get two highly ranked players in the second round anyway.
This doesn’t mean they should give away their first round pick, but for the right deal Bergevin will be more tempted than ever to move that selection.