Canadiens: Three Trades Habs Could Make With 1st Round Pick Tonight

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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.

Rasmus Ristolainen

Rasmus Ristolainen was picked 8th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and would is the closest the Canadiens could come to replacing Weber’s stature on the ice. He is 6’4″ and 221 pounds, plays the right side with a right handed shot, and though he doesn’t have the same cannon for a slapshot he can add some offence.

Ristolainen had at least 30 assists for four consecutive seasons before the pandemic started shutting down the NHL calendar. He is just 26 years old but has only one year left on his contract before he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

The big Finnish defender struggled a bit offensively last season, like everyone else in Buffalo, but showed before that he is regularly capable of scoring more than half a point per game. That would be a welcome addition to the Candaeins blue line that has limited offensive potential beyond Jeff Petry.

It would surely cost the team a first round pick, but with just one year to go before free agency, it might not cost anything more.

Seth Jones

The mass exodus out of Columbus appears to be continuing and Seth Jones is next on the list. It was not that long ago they upset the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs with a roster that included Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, Sergei Bobrovsky, Ryan Murray, Nick Foligno and David Savard.

All of them are gone just over two years later and Jones is rumoured to be next. He has one year left on his contract where he will earn $5.4 million and is then eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

The American blue liner is a former teammate of Shea Weber’s and might be the best option available to replace him. Jones was taken fourth overall in the 2013 NHL Draft and has proven to be worthy of the selection. He is 6’4″ and 213 pounds and size on the blue line is something Bergevin covets.

Jones can also play at both ends of the rink, playing a physical shutdown role in the defensive zone but also scoring 223 points in 381 games with the Blue Jackets since being acquired in 2016. He didn’t have his best season this year, but is still just 26 years old and certainly still has plenty of great years of hockey left in the tank.

The Blue Jackets would be looking for more than just a first round pick but with one year left on his contract, Jones can’t command an enormous return. A pick, a top prospect and a decent NHL regular should do the trick.

Jack Eichel

Okay, Eichel wouldn’t replace Weber like the other two deals mentioned above, but it would give the Canadiens an elite centre and a terrific one-two punch down the middle with Nick Suzuki.

The Sabres are almost definitely going to trade the second overall pick from the 2015 NHL Draft and there will be plenty of suitors. The 24 year old has already proven to be one of the top scorers in the game and though his cap hit is large at $10 million, he is locked in for five more seasons.

The big question with Eichel is his injury history as a dispute with how his neck injury was handled appears to be the reason he wants out of Buffalo. However, if the Canadiens doctors were happy with his medical reports, adding him to the current forward group would give the Habs incredible depth up front.

Of course, it would also cost a ton in addition to the first round pick, but when you are looking to acquire a superstar you have to pay the price.

Bergevin provides update on Weber, Price, Drouin. dark. Next

This would be an obvious swing for the fences move by Bergevin. He has been hesitant to make such a trade, but with the team showing it has what it takes to win playoff series, he will be more tempted than even before to make a huge trade.

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