Draft 2025: a cut after the top-10

The Habs aren’t lining up for a big 2024-2025 year. We all know that.

Yes, some youngsters will arrive and progress, but in the end, the club will look like it did last year. And in the East, there will be plenty of good clubs to keep an eye on.

We know that the Habs will theoretically take a good step forward in 2025, when many contracts will expire, but the summer of 2024 has been soft on short-term additions.

I know it’s still early to predict next year, but if the Habs get closer to the bottom of the league than the famous no-man‘s-land, it won’t be bad news for the draft.

You’ll tell me it’s like this every year… and it’s true.

However, in 2025, it should be noted that, for the time being (there’s time for that to change), the crop of prospects isn’t set to be as deep as the one in 2024 was.

In fact, according to Grant McCagg, once the top-10 is gone, the next draft will have a talent gap.

Two recent first-round picks (Mesar and Barron) AND a future first-round pick for a player (McGroarty) who was chosen 13th overall two years ago but wants a trade? That seems like a very reasonable offer if true. Having taken a deeper dive into the 2025 draft class, it doesn’t…

– Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) July 12, 2024

Of course, that can change as many guys can rise in the next year. It can change negatively, too, because guys playing their 17-year-old year bring out flaws we didn’t see when they were 16 and watched on the surface.

But all this to say that if the Habs are still fishing around fifth place (plus or minus a few spots) instead of fighting for the playoffs, it will be an advantage.

I’m not saying that we absolutely have to lose in 2024-2025. However, if the season gets off to a bad start, it will be a bonus to potentially add another good forward.

I say “forward” because, in a text by Vincent Duquette on the upcoming auction, we read that the 2025 crop won’t be one of defensemen at the top of the pyramid, as was the case in 2024. At least, it was supposed to be.

There will be centers and there will be Quebecers who could be in the Habs’ sights, should the stars align. And the Habs have pretty much completed their rebuild on the blue line, as colleague Max Truman recently said…

Remember that the Habs have 12 picks in 2025, including two first-round picks next year due to the Sean Monahan trade. However, the one received from Calgary could be the Panthers’. But no matter: a first-round pick WITH Monahan is a good deal.

Overtime

– Another person linking Rutger McGroarty to the Habs. Is he credible?

Interesting news from Bob , who was the first person to break the Habs hiring of coach Marty St. Louis back in 2022 . https://t.co/lFhUW8DXxy

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 12, 2024