Major trade concluded between the Montreal Canadiens and the Panthers last year: it has just been completed and Kent Hughes knows his rank
After months and months of speculation on the infamous final rank of the Florida Panthers' 2023 first round pick, acquired by the Montreal Canadiens in the Ben Chiarot trade, the verdict has officially been delivered.
Following the Panthers' defeat against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final, their pick will officially be the 31st overall.
This completes the Chiarot trade. Here is the outcome:
TO THE CANADIENS
- Ty Smilanic
- 4th round pick in 2022
- 31st overall pick in 2023
TO THE PANTHERS
- Ben Chiarot
Let's recall that the trade was made in March 2022, and also remember that the Panthers did not re-sign Chiarot, who is now with the Detroit Red Wings.
It's incredible to realize that at one point, we had hopes that this pick could become a Will Smith, an Adam Fantilli, a Matvei Michkov, or even a Connor Bedard.
Just two months ago, we were still talking about this pick as a top-10, or at the very least, top-15 overall pick.
The Panthers were 35 seconds away from missing the playoffs, but we know the rest.
It will still be interesting to see what Kent Hughes does with this pick. Will he make a trade to move it up? Will he draft a goalie? Include it in another trade?
We will have the answer in just over two weeks.
| POLL | ||
What would you do with the Panthers' 2023 first-round pick? | ||
| Trade it for Dubois | 11 | 40.7 % |
| Trade it for a young player | 5 | 18.5 % |
| Move it in the draft | 5 | 18.5 % |
| Draft a goalie | 6 | 22.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
