The Canadian was linked to Rutger McGroarty yesterday (to be continued today)

In an initial text this morning, I said that the Canadiens had had a near-perfect evening. We talked about the positives, i.e. the two picks (Ivan Demidov, who will be a first-line player for a long time, and Michael Hage, who brings depth to the center) and the presence of Céline…

But on the negative side, the Habs haven’t budged.

You’ll tell me they moved for pick #21, and you’re right. But you also know I mean this: no defenseman was traded for an impact forward.

Is it the end of the world? No. After all, even if the draft is a good time to do it, it’s not the only time to make such a treaty.

But it’s still worth highlighting.

Did Kent Hughes try? Of course he has. And in his own words, he’s still got a few little projects on the go, and he’s not done trying to improve his team.

Nothing was imminent last night, but still.

#Habs GM Kent Hughes on if he has anything cooking trade-wise for day two of the #NHLDraft tomorrow: “yup – I wouldn’t say close…. but yeah, we’re not done trying”

– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) June 29, 2024

Martin Necas, Trevor Zegras, Yaroslav Askarov and Rutger McGroarty spring to mind. These guys could have been traded yesterday for a first-round pick, but that didn’t happen.

But let’s focus on the Jets.

Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens’ name was bandied about in the Rutger McGroarty file. We can sense that Kent Hughes has his eyes set on the Jets prospect to improve his top-6.

And according to Chris Johnston, the Habs did try their luck with the Jets prospect. It wasn’t necessarily against the #5 pick, but when Ivan Demidov came into the picture, the rest took the edge off a bit.

Cont’d: “You wonder if some of those trade discussions pick up when we return for day 2 of the draft”

– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) June 29, 2024

McGroarty, who commented on Michael Hage’s Instagram post following his first-round selection, could still be traded today. Will the Habs and their surplus of defensemen in the same mold be in the mix?

That remains to be seen. But it could clearly be an interesting day.

In Overtime

– Ivan Demidov speaks better French than Jeff Gorton?

#Habs GM Kent Hughes says Ivan Demidov speaks better French than Jeff Gorton

– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) June 29, 2024

– Oh…

Imagine Lane Hutson & Ivan Demidov on the Habs PP together one day pic.twitter.com/5jT9NqTWTC

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) June 29, 2024

– Reminder: four clubs said no.

Button on Demidov: “Reminds me so much of Nikita Kucherov”

– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) June 29, 2024

– I had that DVD too.

“Every day of the week I used to watch it.”

Hawks draft pick Sacha Boisvert to @JeffMarek on watching Alex Kovalev’s DVD. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/ZRr8pqdrvl

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 29, 2024

– Claude Julien wanted a head job in the NHL. Instead, he’s an assistant in St. Louis. [NYT]

– Ouch.

The Blue Jays also lost the services of George Springer, hit with a hand in the fifth inning. https://t.co/s4O1EaCgXO

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) June 29, 2024