Three Rumors Regarding Canadiens’ First Overall Pick
The conspiracy theorists (myself included) have been slayed and the Arizona Coyotes are picking third overall. Unless an absolute turn of events, the Montreal Canadiens will be stepping at the podium in front of a fired up Bell Center crowd and announce Shane Wright as their 2022 1st overall draft pick.
It’s going to be a party, no doubt.
The logic would dictate that Wright will be drafted first overall by Montreal and start the season with the big club next season. Because of his exceptional status in the OHL, he’s already completed two years in the juniors and would be too young to play in the AHL under league regulations.
The team will likely hold the usual 10 game audition which is the limit a rookie can play in the NHL before being sent back to his junior team. Unless Wright completely flops to start the season, Martin St. Louis will likely start the 18 year old slow as a bottom 6 centerman.
That being said, as much as we’re all excited to see what a middle line consisting of Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans and Wright could bring to the table, there are some rumors that the Canadiens might consider trading the first overall pick if team’s are offering a king’s ransom.
Kent Hughes on potentially listening to offers for No. 1: "I find in life, you're always better off listening to everyone. But it hasn't been discussed yet with Jeff, John and our scouts. We'll listen if we get calls, but we're not planning on trading."
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) May 10, 2022
However unlikely, here are three persistent rumors involving the Canadiens and their coveted first overall pick.
Trade rumors regarding Alexis Lafrenière have amped up since this winter. The 2020 first overall pick has been streaky since his NHL debut but has certainly started to amp up after finishing the season strong and finishing with 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points. While he’s enjoyed time on the first line, head coach Gerard Gallant has thrown Lafrenière around on all lines.
Chris Drury fired the rumors even further when he gave specific instructions to Lafrenière not to give any interviews in his native French. A decision that not only confused the St-Eustache, Quebec native, but drew the anger of many in the hockey world in general.
While trading the first overall pick in return for another first overall pick could make sense on paper, it doesn’t make sense for the Canadiens.
As good as Lafrenière will be, he currently is not worth a first overall pick simply because he is not currently the best in his draft class. Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings is in my opinion the best in class thus far, having registered 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points in 82 games. Tim Stützle can also be argued as being better than Lafrenière as he leads the draft class scoring race with 34 goals and 53 assists for 87 points in 132 games.
Other players that are scoring at a higher pace than Lafrenière are Jamie Drysdale of the Anaheim Ducks, Anton Lundell of the Florida Panthers, Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes and Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils.
Getting Lafrenière to the Canadiens would still represent a coup for Montreal as a whole, however a trade involving Calgary’s first round pick tagged with a couple of prospects is more viable than sacrificing the first overall pick.
While there are still tons of great options at number three, Arizona GM Bill Armstrong was salivating all year at the potential of seeing Shane Wright sporting the kachina jersey.
Head coach André Tourigny did a masterful job last season despite seeing his team finish last in the Western Conference. If properly supported, Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are proving they can be a lethal 1-2 punch down the middle. Shayne Gostisbehere has shown a resurgence of sorts while Lawson Crouse had a career year with 20 goals.
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman had a debate on the 32 Thoughts Podcast where Marek stated that Armstrong is tempted to make a mega offer to the Canadiens.
Marek on 32TP proposes a trade:
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) May 11, 2022
Coyotes send the 3rd overall pick this year and their 1st RDer next year to Montreal for the 1st overall pick this year.
The Coyotes have three first round picks for the upcoming draft, so sacrificing next year’s 1st round in order to move up two spots might not be the end of the world, if it weren’t for who will likely be drafted first overall next year.
If Bill Armstrong were to call Kent Hughes and offer this trade, you can bet Hughes will take it in a heartbeat. It’s likely going to be a toss up between Logan Cooley or Juraj Slafkovsky going number two overall. If the Devils draft by need they will pick Slafkovsky. If they go by the best player available, they will pick Cooley. So regardless of who goes number two, the third overall pick will be a solid player. Before the lottery, the Canadiens were said to be very high on Slafkovsky who is drawing comparisons to Carolina Hurricanes sniper Andrei Svechnikov.
The only reason why this trade could work in favor of the Habs is because of the 2023 1st round pick attached to it. Connor Bedard is slated to go first overall in 2023 and is considered a generational talent, something Shane Wright is not.
With the right development and attitude, Wright can be a solid player. He won’t become a Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, but he has drawn similar comparisons to Patrice Bergeron and Aleksander Barkov who are by no means slouches in their own right.
André Tourigny, who coached Shane Wright during the Team Canada training camp at the World Juniors in 2020, has high praise for the Kingston Frontenac captain and insists that he is a generational player in the making.
The only negative in this trade scenario? Try to sell the fans of Montreal that they won’t see their team pick first overall in their hometown. That would definitely be a tough pill to swallow. Although if it means getting Connor Bedard…
Can you imagine a three-headed monster down the middle consisting of Nick Suzuki, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Shayne Wright. Goodness gracious.
The last time the Canadiens have shown that much fire power and depth down the middle was during the 95-96 season when the team sported Pierre Turgeon, Vincent Damphousse and Saku Koivu as their top three centermen.
There’s a lot of speculation going on in Winnipeg as to what the next step will be for the Jets. Rumors are floating around that Mark Scheifele is considering a change of scenery. Pierre-Luc Dubois has enjoyed a very solid season for the Jets but management are seemingly reluctant to locking up the 23 year old power center to a long-term contract.
Further complicating matters, with Barry Trotz now a free agent, it would definitely be tempting to bring in the Winnipeg native home to coach the Jets. That being said, Trotz and Dubois might not be a match made in heaven as Trotz insists on an extremely defensive-minded system, while Dubois thrives on the run and gun system which has been used by Martin St. Louis all year. Not to mention he isn’t afraid of throwing his weight around the ice.
The Canadiens would be in a position of power as they hold the Calgary Flames’ first round pick as a result of the Tyler Toffoli trade. They also have the Florida Panthers’ first round pick for next season as well that they can dangle if needed.
The Canadiens have a plethora of defensive prospects they can sacrifice, especially on the left side, to go along with Calgary’s pick in order to lure in Pierre-Luc Dubois. If they can pull a sign and trade for the restricted free agent along with drafting Shane Wright first overall, the roof at the Bell Center will explode come July.
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