A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens Best Ever NHL Draft Classes: #5

By Ken MacMillan

Oct 16, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty (67) hands over the torch to teammate P.K. Subban (76) during the introduction ceremony before the game against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens won 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty (67) hands over the torch to teammate P.K. Subban (76) during the introduction ceremony before the game against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens won 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Montreal Canadiens will be the fifth team to head to the podium when the 2023 NHL Draft gets underway on Wednesday. Leading up to the festivities, we will be counting down the Canadiens five best draft classes of all time, starting with their fifth best.

The 2006-07 Montreal Canadiens missed out on the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. An 82nd game of the season loss, including a blown third period lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the Canadiens, and kept the hated Leafs alive. The New York Islanders would steal the 8th playoff seed from the Maple Leafs with a shootout victory the following day.

This meant the Habs first pick in the 2007 NHL Draft was 12th overall and they wisely took Ryan McDonagh. It was a fantastic selection, with the native of Minnesota having a very successful career so far. He is still a reliable top four defender, and has three years left on his contract, meaning there are plenty of more games to come.

McDonagh has won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and was in the final with them in 2022 as well as a trip to the Cup Final in 2014 with the Rangers. McDonagh played a significant defensive role on all four of those terrific teams, showing he is a proven leader, valuable penalty killer and playoff performer. Getting that kind of longevity and dependability out of a 12th overall pick is a great find.

The Canadiens had a second first round pick thanks to a Craig Rivet trade with the San Jose Sharks. Though the team was in the playoff chase at the time, they dealt the realiable, veteran defender instead of losing him for nothing as a free agent. It was a gutsy move by Bob Gainey who was the general manager at the time, and it may have even cost them a playoff spot since they were so close in 2007, but it paid off in the long run.

The trade worked out because they selected Max Pacioretty with the 22nd overall pick. He has gone on to play 855 NHL games and has scored over 300 goals and 600 points and spent the bulk of his career with the Canadiens. He is a free agent this summer and will look to bounce back from significant injuries last season to build on his career totals.

P.K. Subban was drafted in the second round with the 43rd overall pick. He had a tremendous career as well, playing 834 career games, winning a Norris Trophy in 2013 and he was one of the best offensive defensemen in the game for a while. His best season came when he scored 15 goals and 60 points in 2014-15 and he played a huge role in the Canadiens making the Eastern Conference Final in 2014.

Yannick Weber was the fourth NHLer taken by the Canadiens in the 2007 NHL Draft. He hasn’t had the same success as the others, but he played 499 career games and finished just shy of 100 career points. He was a dependable two-way defenseman for about a decade and helped the Nashville Predators make the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.

The Canadiens made a total of nine selections in the 2007 NHL Draft and each of the first three would play over 800 NHL games. The four NHL players that were selected combined to play 3,042 career NHL games so far. McDonagh and Pacioretty will continue adding to those totals.

Getting three NHL players that played key roles on teams for over a decade is a huge haul from one NHL Draft which is why the 2007 NHL Draft is the 5th best ever in Canadiens history.

Adding in a valuable depth piece is just icing on the cake. The Canadiens would be quite fortunate to land a trio of players like McDonagh, Pacioretty and Subban with their two first round picks and second round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Home/Editorials