The Montreal Canadiens have had a fascinating season that has left many fans with mixed feelings. On one hand, they got to witness their young stars, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Kirby Dach, excel and produce at career-high levels. However, despite their hopes, the team did not trade any of its older players for trade deadline returns.
Last season, the Canadiens made a trade with the Florida Panthers, sending Ben Chiarot to Florida and receiving the Panthers' 2023 first-round draft pick in return. Initially, it looked like the pick could be in the top 16, but now it is likely to be later in the draft as the Panthers have overtaken the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Wild Card position.
Despite this setback, the Canadiens still boast a strong roster of young talent, both on forward and defence. The team's rebuilding efforts have already borne fruit with the emergence of players like Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, and other promising prospects like Sean Farrell, Owen Beck, Lane Hutson, Riley Kidney, Logan Mailloux, and Joshua Roy.
With this impressive young core, the Canadiens are no longer a team that needs to build up its prospect pipeline but rather one that needs someone who can contribute now. Last year, the team took a gamble on Kirby Dach, who had been given up on by his former team, and it paid off handsomely.
Now, with the Canadiens' first-round pick in the lottery, the Florida Panthers' pick has become an attractive asset that could be used in a trade to acquire a player who can make an immediate impact on the team.
