Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton were not at the combine

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton were not at the combine
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

The offseason is well and truly underway for the Canadiens.

Club executives will have several decisions to make in the coming weeks. In particular, several players will be looking for new contracts, and the free-agent market will need to be prepared for.

Management will also have to navigate the trade market. The case of Brendan Gallagher, which could be resolved this week, is the most pressing issue right now.

That said, preparations for the draft must also be made.

As of now, the Canadiens have eight picks. They don't have their fifth-round pick (Carey Price trade), but they do have a fourth-round pick from the Jets (Johnathan Kovacevic trade) and a seventh-round pick from the Hurricanes (Cayden Primeau trade).

(Credit: Cap Wages)

Will the Canadiens end up making eight picks? Will they make eight picks with exactly those selections? It's safe to assume that trades will take place.

That's how it goes every year.

But even if the Habs were to trade their sixth- or seventh-round pick, it wouldn't change much. What people want to know is whether the 28th overall pick will be traded.

That's the big question.

On that note, it's worth mentioning that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton weren't at the NHL Combine in Buffalo this year. They're usually there.

Marco D'Amico (from the Sur le Marché podcast) reports that Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov were there, of course.

Usually, the Habs' hockey executives are at the combine. Is this a sign that the Canadiens do indeed intend to trade their 28th pick for immediate reinforcements?

One might think it's a sign, yes. But we can't draw any conclusions, even if it's unusual for HuGo.

D'Amico (who was in Buffalo for the draft) doesn't want to speculate on this information regarding the Habs' intentions. That said, regardless of his info, he also feels—like many others—that the Habs might trade their first-round pick.

We'll find out by June 26.


In a nutshell

– Ouch.

– He wants to stay… but will he stay?

– Stay tuned.

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