Expansion Draft: Jeff Gorton Unveils the Canadiens’ Plan

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Expansion Draft: Jeff Gorton Unveils the Canadiens’ Plan
Credit: YouTube

In a few years, expansion seems inevitable in the NHL.

When that happens, it will mark the first expansion draft since 2021, when the Seattle Kraken joined the National Hockey League.

We've already discussed this, but naturally, it's time to start thinking about it. After all, the Habs will have decisions to make when the time comes.

Because the Habs are better now than they were in 2017 or 2021, it's possible that the Canadiens will lose a quality player when the time comes for a team to draft.

We'll see in 2029, if that's when the expansion takes place.

On that note, it's interesting to note that Jeff Gorton, during his interview with Marc-Antoine Godin and Arpon Basu (Basu and Godin Notebook), addressed the topic of the expansion draft.

This gives the team's fans a better understanding of its strategy.

Basically, the Canadiens' president made a point of reminding everyone that many teams were caught off guard by Vegas in 2017 during the infamous expansion draft. Most of the deals struck to force the Golden Knights' hand didn't pay off.

And clearly, he doesn't want that for his organization.

“Ultimately, every team can afford to lose the same number of players. I think we've all learned a lesson from Vegas: let the team do what it wants instead of scrambling to make deals.

The teams that have been most successful are the ones that let the Golden Knights make the picks.” – Jeff Gorton

The Canadiens' president notes that the club doesn't run mock drafts years in advance to try to predict how things will play out. But still: the Canadiens are keeping in mind that it's coming.

That's only natural.

Note: Saying that the Habs won't make any trades doesn't mean the club will sit idly by, waiting to see an expansion franchise snatch a good player in his prime.

After all, the Habs have every right to line up their picks so they're ready to let the expansion franchise make the choice that will hurt the Canadiens the least in the short, medium, and long term.

In 2017, when Jeff Gorton was the Rangers' GM, he didn't strike a deal with the Golden Knights. He let the club select Oscar Lindberg.

It didn't hurt too much, in the end.

But he still made a move by acquiring defenseman Dan Girardi, who had a buyout clause. This allowed the GM to protect Nick Holden, which was his goal.

So even though he didn't reach an agreement with George McPhee, Gorton still took action to protect his organization. Expect the same mindset with the Habs, if necessary.


Quick Thoughts

– Of course.

– Frank Seravalli joins the Sportsnet team.

– Today's scores in the KHL.

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