The Montreal Canadiens hold the fifth overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, and teams rarely move out from that position once they have it. While there is often a lot of chatter about trades on the draft floor, it usually just results in a few later picks being moved for other picks.
Could the Canadiens look to buck that trend this year? There is a scenario that exists where it makes a lot of sense to move down from the fifth overall pick to a slightly later pick in the top ten.
The Canadiens sitting at number five could possibly just miss out on their targeted player. There are four centers at the top of this draft, Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Will Smith but they may all be gone by the time the Canadiens step to the podium with their pick.
There is one wildcard in this draft and that is Matvei Michkov. He certainly fits in the same category as those four centers and could even be better than a few of them. However, there have been a lot of questions linked to him because he is signed for three more seasons in the KHL.
It is kind of simple for the Canadiens at five if someone in the top four takes Michkov. The Canadiens then just take whichever center is still available. If not, they have a tough choice to make on whether to take Michkov or not. If they are not worried about how the war going on in that part of the world affects his availability, they just take him. If they are not interested in taking Michkov, they have a number of players to choose from that are in the next group.
If Michkov isn’t in their plans, and the four centers go in the top four, here is where things can get interesting for the Canadiens.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Philadelphia Flyers are looking to move up a few spots to try and get Michkov. He reports they are currently looking to move players like Travis Sanheim, Kevin Hayes or Scott Laughton to add another first round pick. They already have the 7th pick and the 22nd overall selection but are looking to bring in another first round pick they can package with the 7th overall pick to move up and get Michkov.
So, if Michkov is on the board when the Canadiens are on the clock with the fifth pick, the Canadiens could very well be able to swap that pick for the 7th and another pick late in the first round.
If they are not sold on Michkov for whatever reason, it would be a great idea to slide back just two spots, and still get either Ryan Leonard, David Reinbacher or Dalibor Dvorsky as well as a late first round pick.
If the Flyers are willing to hand over a late first round pick to move up two spots, it would be a fantastic idea for the Canadiens to slide back two spots, especially if their top four targets are off the board anyway.
So, keep an eye on the Flyers. If they can pull off any of their rumoured trades and add a first round pick in the deal, it just might be ammo to offer the Canadiens for the 5th overall pick.
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!