If Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes loudly proclaimed that he would like to select a forward with the fifth pick in the NHL draft, his boss, vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, was more cautious in his comments on the eve of the first round.
Gorton would only say he prefers the philosophy of choosing the best player available, not someone who fills a void at a position.
“I know Kent made it clear he wanted a striker to have a little fun with you,” exclaimed Gorton in the press scrum at the chic Fontainebleau Hotel on Thursday. It’s the day before the draft and there are a lot of cameras and people here. To say exactly what we will do, I’m not comfortable with that. I’m of the philosophy where we want to take the best player available. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. »
Gorton acknowledged it was difficult for his group to guess which players will be selected before they get the floor.
While there is consensus at No. 1, with the San Jose Sharks expected to select Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, rumors go in all directions afterward.
Several good defenders are available, such as the Russian Anton Silayev, the Belarusian Artyom Levshunov, the American Zeev Buium and the Canadian Zayne Parekh. We also find a few other attackers in the leading group, such as the Canadian Cayden Lindstrom and the Russian Ivan Demidov.
“We have been preparing for months for different scenarios, depending on who might be available at fifth,” Gorton recalled. We are at the mercy of what the other teams will do. We are comfortable with our list and it will not change by tomorrow. »
Last year, several elements could dissuade teams from selecting Russian forward Matvei Michkov, who slipped to seventh overall even though he was the second best player available according to several observers.
Demidov’s case seems much different this year. Michkov was still under contract for three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, and his father had been found dead in a creek under mysterious circumstances just months before the draft.
Demidov, meanwhile, has just one more year left on his contract with SKA St. Petersburg and his path to the NHL should have fewer obstacles than Michkov’s.
Cautiously, Gorton simply reiterated that the two situations were different, although he added that the geopolitical situation in Russia complicated the work of his recruiting team.
“It’s not easy when you can’t send your whole organization there to see the player with your own eyes,” he stressed. But with COVID, things have changed. We adapted with different tools. We have good relations with Russia and we have good people there. »
The Canadiens’ staff finally met Demidov in person on Thursday.
“He strikes me as a very good kid and he’s in good physical condition,” Gorton said. “We didn’t have a ton of time with him, he was meeting with a lot of teams. But I thought he was impressive. His English was very good. We had a good conversation with him.”
Speed up reconstruction?
Without wanting to say that the Canadian was ready to try to accelerate the rebuilding process, Gorton said that the team’s staff must have this mentality.
“Regardless of the draft, we’re evaluating scenarios that could help us do that,” Gorton admitted. We always want to improve the team. This is what we evaluate. Yes, it would be nice to add to the team. »
But has the team reached the point where it needs to accelerate the rebuild by being more aggressive?
“I don’t know how to define it,” he said. “We want to rebuild the team. We try to improve it every day. It’s a shame to say it, but it’s true. We want to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way.”
Gorton nevertheless said that it would be surprising to see the Canadian get his hands on one of the best free agents available when the market opens on 1er July.
If the Canadiens pull off a big move in the coming days, it will clearly once again be through the trade market. After all, Hughes has made big deals in the last two drafts, getting Kirby Dach in 2022 and then Alex Newhook in 2023.
The end for Ylönen
Furthermore, Gorton confirmed that the Canadian was not going to present a qualifying offer to forward Jesse Ylönen, who will therefore become an unrestricted free agent on 1er July.
The 24-year-old Finn had four goals and as many assists in 59 games last season.
He could get a fresh start elsewhere in the NHL, or on the Old Continent.