If Cayden Lindstrom isn’t available at No. 5, the Habs would consider trading his pick

With the draft slowly approaching, we’re beginning to wonder where the various prospects in the upcoming auction will end up. In a draft that seems to be full of hidden cards, everything seems rather mysterious.

There won’t be any suspense at No. 1, but at No. 2, things could get a little shaky.

The Habs, who are drafting at No. 5, are in a strange situation, given that it’s impossible to know who the four guys who will start at No. 5 will be. We know the club would like to draft a forward, but the question is who will be available.

Ideally, it would be Ivan Demidov… but there seems to be another option.

According to David Pagnotta, the word around the league right now is that the Habs really like Cayden Lindstrom… and that if he isn’t available at No. 5, Kent Hughes might just trade his pick.

Today’s piece hits on the #GoHabsGo, which D could move, Draft activity & who they may target. Plus:
– #GoKingsGo coach
– Drouin & #GoAvsGo
– #GoBolts Stamkos, then Hedman
– Swayman deal with #NHLBruins
– Isles & Lee
– #Flames #LeafsForever #CauseChaos https://t.co/1tdgMQuhzv

– David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 20, 2024

Presumably, in this hypothetical scenario in which Hughes trades his pick, Demidov would also have been selected before the Habs’ pick. This would be a bit of a worst-case scenario, where 3-4 forwards are drafted in the top-4.

Lindstrom is a big guy (6 feet 3 inches, 210 pounds) who is very talented and would add a little more meat to the forward group in town. With Juraj Slafkovský and Kirby Dach, that would make three of the club’s good young forwards with imposing stature.

We know that the current administration liked Slaf’s size when they made the decision to select him, and in Lindstrom, they’d have another big guy like that.

Health problems undermined the youngster’s WHL season this year, but he still scored 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games. He’s a diamond to be polished, but the potential is there… and we know that the Habs like this kind of prospect whose floor is a little lower, but whose ceiling is very high (think Slaf and Lane Hutson, among others).

We’ll see if Lindstrom is the Habs’ target for the fifth spot, but if he’s no longer available (and Demidov isn’t either), we could see the Habs trade his pick. And it would be hard to predict the value the Habs might get in return.

Extension

These aren’t necessarily huge surprises, but they are two topics that continue to make noise.