The Montreal Canadiens were content to take Beckett Sennecke at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Sennecke was climbing draft boards up to the draft, and speculation was starting to build that Montreal would take the chance on him. We know what happened now, as the Canadiens took Ivan Demidov and shaped the franchise's future. However, as Elliotte Friedman mapped out on his most recent podcast, the Habs were dangerously close to taking a different path. Let's break it down.
The Canadiens believed Demidov wouldn't fall to them at fifth-overall. They thought he was a top-two prospect in the draft, and there was no way he would fall past the Anaheim Ducks at No. 3 overall. Speaking of the Ducks, the Canadiens had worked out a deal with them that would see them acquire Trevor Zegras for a young defenseman and a first-round pick. The pick in the deal was the one they would eventually use to take Michael Hage, and we can assume the defenseman was Jordan Harris, who they eventually traded for Patrik Laine.
The Chicago Blackhawks too Artyom Levshunov with the second-overall pick, but they also offered an uprotected first-round pick in the 2025 draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets for their fourth-overall pick. It's unclear what their intention was, but it's possible they knew what was about to happen and hoped they could land both Demidov and Levshunov.
The Ducks pulled the rug out from underneath the Canadiens when they took Sennecke with the third-overall pick. The Blue Jackets then elected to keep their pick and take Cayden Lindstrom, which put Demidov right in the Habs' laps. It wasn't their plan heading into draft night, as they were aware of all the different scenarios, and had accepted the fact that they'd likely be taking Sennecke.
Once Demidov was available, Friedman hypothesized that Kent Hughes and co. didn't want to be redundant with their roster. Zegras and Demidov would be similar left-shot skilled forwards, and it wouldn't make much sense to bring them both in. It made much more sense to pair Sennecke with Zegras in their original plan, which ironically is what the Ducks were eventually stuck with.
So, the Ducks' bold move to take Sennecke altered the course of the Canadiens' history. They took Demidov and were also able to keep that first-round pick and land Hage, who in the early stages looks like a steal. It also led to them acquiring Laine, as they might not have had the opportunity to do that if Harris were with the Ducks.
I ask Canadiens fans, "What would you rather have? Sennecke and Zegras or Demidov, Hage, and Laine?" I think the answer is quite clear.