Montreal Canadiens Prioritizing the Draft to Make Moves

Expect Montreal To Make a Move at the 2024 NHL Draft

Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Steve Kouleas and Carter Hutton on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio and was asked about the Montreal Canadiens’ plan for this offseason.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

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Steve Kouleas: “With Dave Pagnotta Sirius XM and Power Play Insider. Maybe not as sexy, but as they slowly improve, what’s the plan In Montreal as it relates to the draft and beyond?”

Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, well, look, we saw the last two drafts Kent Hughes was active. He brought and acquired Alex Newhook last draft. Two seasons prior bringing in Kirby Dach. And it wouldn’t surprise a lot of people around the league if they make another move and add another forward to the group. There’s been a lot of talk of them trying to add another offensive-minded goal scorer to their top six, maybe alleviate a little bit of pressure from guys like Caufield and Suzuki, but likely on the wing.

And they are you know, open to it. Speaking to some people around the Canadiens, it certainly sounds like they have prioritized the draft. They’re focused on the draft. They have a fifth overall pick and a 26th overall pick. They’ve got a handful of additional picks in the later rounds. So they’re right now focused on that now with the Combine coming up.

I mean, this is when things really start to get juicy and start to flow. Everybody’s in one spot. GMs and agents all want to talk, and hopefully, this starts to get the ball rolling on a few fronts. But from the Habs perspective right now, they prioritize the draft. But like a lot of teams, if they have an opportunity to upgrade their roster, they’re definitely going to take a look at that.

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And I think those conversations for the Habs are going to start as early as this week to see what’s out there. What’s available to them? They’ve got a little bit of cap space to play with; they can extend that with, you know, by the time the season starts by putting Price on LTIR. Tanner Pearson is a free agent he will not be back.

He is another guy who’s going to test the waters July 1. They’ve got a little bit of financial flexibility, but if the right deal falls into place, they can add an extra goalscorer to the mix. I think they would like to do that.

But for now, they’re focused on the draft. They’re prioritizing that, and then they’ll see what options become available to them as the weeks get closer or the days, I guess, get closer to the draft in Vegas.”