Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils Won’t Make First Overall Decision For Montreal Canadiens

By Nick Villano

Executive vice president of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton (L) and newly appointed general Manager of the Montreal Canadiens Kent Hughes, hold up a Canadiens' jersey during a press conference at Centre Bell on January 19, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Kent Hughes becomes the 18th general manager in franchise history. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Executive vice president of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton (L) and newly appointed general Manager of the Montreal Canadiens Kent Hughes, hold up a Canadiens' jersey during a press conference at Centre Bell on January 19, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Kent Hughes becomes the 18th general manager in franchise history. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

There’s a new report from TSN saying the Montreal Canadiens are undecided about the number-one overall pick. Pierre Lebrun said on Insider Trading that the Canadiens would entertain an offer from the New Jersey Devils to swap the top two picks.

That seems obvious, doesn’t it? There are seemingly two options at the top of the draft who are destined to be really good players. However, there is a certain amount of risk with each player. Shane Wright was the consensus number-one overall pick for seemingly four years. However, Juraj Slafkovsky has lit the hockey world on fire with performances on the international stage. It started at the Olympics, and it continued at the IIHF World Championships.

With two players that could end up being superstars at the top of the NHL Draft, the Devils should be happy to sit back, relax, and let the player fall to them. If the Canadiens take Shane Wright like everyone expected them to do for months, then the Devils will likely take Slafkovsky. If the Canadiens fall in love with Slafkovsky, then the Devils would be happy to take Wright. LeBrun even said as much.

"“The Devils are telling people that if the center is the best player available in their eyes, we have no problem taking another center even though the Devils have Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.”"

The Devils are going to be more than happy with who they end up with on draft night. Sure, there will always be the ones who think the Devils should take defenseman Simon Nemec or David Jiricek. Some might even want Logan Cooley.

Next. More NHL Draft Coverage Here!. dark

The fact of the matter is the Devils need to take Shane Wright if he falls. It makes the most sense, and based on LeBrun’s report, it seems like the Devils feel the same way. There’s no way the Devils are going to give up premium assets to move up one spot when the difference between the top two picks is unknown. On top of that, the report says the Devils would theoretically do it for Slafkovsky, and that just doesn’t seem likely at this point.

Home/Draft