The Montreal Canadiens retained the fifth right to speak in the next draft during the NHL lottery on Tuesday evening.
The Habs had the fifth-best odds of winning the top pick, at 8.5%, by virtue of their 28e rank in the overall NHL standings.
The Canadian won the lottery in 2022, obtaining the right to speak in the front row. He then selected Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovsky in front of his fans at the Bell Centre.
Last season, the Canadian also spoke in the fifth row in Nashville and he opted for Austrian defender David Reinbacher.
The San Jose Sharks won the lottery on Tuesday. They finished last overall in the NHL and had a little over 25% chance of being drafted first overall.
The best prospect available according to the majority of experts is Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, who played for Boston University last season.
The NHL draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
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