NHL Draft | Anything (really anything) can happen to the Canadian

Rarely have we felt, as the NHL draft approaches, that the Montreal Canadiens could take so many different directions.

During a press briefing held Thursday in Las Vegas, on the eve of this famous draft, the CH vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, commented on only one thing: without guaranteeing it “100% “, he said the club should keep its main first-round pick, at fifth overall.

Besides, he is very smart who knows how to predict what will happen with the Habs. Predicting the player who will be the lucky one is in itself risky. Gorton wanted to temper the comments of general manager Kent Hughes who declared, a few weeks ago, that the team would prioritize a forward with its first selection.

The “best player available” philosophy still prevails, he assured. The CH list is ready, and it should no longer change, we understand. Everything now depends on the decisions made by the four teams who will choose first: the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With Macklin Celebrini pre-determined for the Sharks, it’s really the Blackhawks who will dictate what happens next. “Last year, we all knew who the four guys were going to be before we got to the draft, and we had a decision to make at fifth,” Gorton said. His choice was David Reinbacher.

Earlier, Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson smiled as he told a reporter that no, he would not reveal his strategy. The choice of the club has been made, he nevertheless assured. Will he prioritize a defenseman, a glaring need in Chicago, after drafting Connor Bedard last year? Not necessarily. Will he prefer a dynamic young attacker to assist Bedard? Lips are sealed.

Ron Francis, CEO of the Seattle Kraken, also said that his team, holder of the eighth pick, was preparing for “all eventualities”.

“We’ve been looking at different scenarios for months for the fifth spot,” Gorton added. “We’re at the mercy of the decisions of other teams. We’re comfortable with our list, we’ll live with it.”

Transactions

Anything can happen, we said, on the podium, obviously, but also behind the scenes, whether at the end of the line or directly on the repechage floor.

Kent Hughes’ phone doesn’t ring, his colleague said. The Canadian, it is true, is in a good position to conclude different types of transactions, particularly to improve the club in the short term. “I think we have a lot of ammunition,” Gorton summed up. Twelve picks in this year’s draft, including two in the first round (5^e and 26^e), and twelve other choices in 2025. But also many “good young players”.

“We’re having conversations that we wouldn’t have otherwise,” he added.

The goal is clear: “We want to have a better team when we return.” When we return from Vegas or when we return from the offseason? There is some vagueness. But the end result is the same: to be “in the mix” for the playoffs, an equally vague expression used last season to define the 2024-2025 objectives.

The team has established certain targets on the free agent market, we also understand, but we will probably not try to catch a big fish. “We have a lot of young people who are developing and who need opportunities to play,” recalled Gorton. I wouldn’t want them to be blocked by an older player who has a long-term contract. »

“No connection” between Demidov and Michkov

Again and again on the theme of “anything can happen”, there is finally what it is now fashionable to call the “Russian factor”.

A year after the melodrama surrounding the non-selection of Matvei Michkov by the Canadian, and his selection two ranks further by the Philadelphia Flyers, Ivan Demidov finds himself among the most popular forwards of the day.

Gorton insisted that they were “two different players” who were “not related”. The organisation has “good people” in Russia who are diligently reporting on the development of prospects there, at a time when the geopolitical climate makes it difficult for club representatives to make the trip themselves.

Montreal management, on the other hand, does not seem intimidated by the idea of ​​drafting Demidov, even if the uncertainty always seems to surround transfers between the KHL and the NHL. Michkov will likely make the jump to North America only a year after being drafted, and Demidov has explicitly explained that he wants to arrive as soon as possible as well.

The Canadiens were among the teams that spoke with him in Vegas on Thursday. Gorton described him as an “impressive” young man, particularly in terms of his physical fitness and his command of English.

Neither he nor Kent Hughes had traveled to Florida the previous week to see him in action at an event organized by the Gold Star agency, which represents several Russian players. Asked about this, the administrator indicated that he had preferred to send Nick Bobrov and Martin Lapointe, co-directors of amateur scouting. “They are the ones who see [le plus] of players, he justified. I don’t want to stop them from doing their job. »

A clear answer… which does not, however, help to attenuate the aura of mystery around the Canadian, undoubtedly one of the most intriguing clubs of the moment in the league.

Did we say anything could happen?

The Canadian will not retain the services of Jesse Ylönen

Even if the organization does not completely close the door to a return of Jesse Ylönen, it seems that his time with the Canadian is over. Jeff Gorton indicated that the Finnish striker would not receive a qualifying offer in the coming days. He will therefore become a free agent without compensation on 1^er next July. A second-round pick in 2018, Ylönen has never been able to demonstrate that he can play in the NHL on a regular basis, despite numerous chances to show his skills. Last season, on a rebuilding team, and despite multiple injuries or departures on the offensive lines, he had eight points, including four goals, in 59 games. “We talked to his agent, and he felt the need to get a fresh start somewhere else,” Gorton explained. “We’ll see what happens, and if nothing comes up for him, he’s a player that we like and know well. But at this point in his career, if he wants to try something else, we’re okay with that,” Gorton continued.