Interesting MOCK TRADE emerges between the Habs and the Flames

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Elias Edmonson
May 9, 2024 (4:45 PM)

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A few hours after the 2024 NHL lottery, journalists from The Athletic published some very interesting information.

Now that the exact order of the top-16 is known, they simulated the National Hockey League draft (a mock draft), giving the role of GM to each journalist covering the team.

So, a journalist from San Jose drafts for the Sharks, a journalist from Chicago drafts for the Blackhawks, a journalist from Montreal drafts for the Canadiens, and so on.

This is probably the most realistic simulation, because it comes from experts who are connected with the real leaders of these teams, and because they know the needs of their team very well.

MOCK TRADE: a trade between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames

And in this exercise, a single transaction was concluded and it involves the Montreal Canadiens!

Here is the final result of this exercise:

1- San Jose: Macklin Celebrini

2- Chicago: Ivan Demidov

3- Anaheim: Artyom Levshunov

4- Columbus: Cayden Lindstrom

5- Calgary: Zeev Buium*

6- Utah: Anton Silayev

7- Ottawa: Zayne Parekh

8- Seattle: Sam Dickinson

9- Montreal Canadiens: Tij Iginla*

10- New Jersey: Berkly Catton

11- Buffalo: Cole Eiserman

12- Philadelphia: Carter Yakemchuk

13- Minnesota: Adam Jiricek

14- San Jose: Beckett Sennecke

15- Detroit: Konsta Helenius

16- St-Louis: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

*Transaction carried out

Basically, the "general manager" assigned to the CH during this exercise, Arpon Basu, saw Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom being drafted before the Habs' pick.

So, he decided to make a trade and move back.

MOCK TRADE: the CH trades the 5th overall pick to the Calgary Flames in return for the 9th overall selection and the first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks

This refers to the pick acquired by the Flames in the Elias Lindholm transaction. This would make it three first-round picks for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens.

"With Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom selected in the first four picks, the worst-case scenario presented itself to the Canadiens. It was necessary to make the decision to choose a forward at the 5th spot, to take a right-handed defenseman - Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk were there - or to trade down, gain additional draft capital and get the forward they've wanted from the start.

We chose door number 3, made the trade with Calgary, added a third first-round pick (in addition to the first pick of the Jets acquired in exchange for Sean Monahan) and drafted Tij Iginla from the Kelowna Rockets, a playoff-type forward who should help complete the top 6 of the Canadiens in about two years."

- Arpon Basu

Do you like this trade? Would you like Kent Hughes to make the same decision if he finds himself in this situation in Las Vegas?

It would be ironic to see the Canadiens draft Tij Iginla with the Flames' pick, a name obviously very well-known in Calgary, but anyway it's a scenario to keep in mind.

Credit : HABSolumentFan - The Athletic prévoit un scénario catastrophe pour le CH au repêchage