This is a major scoop for Marco Normandin and quite an achievement on his part.
First, take a look at the passage from his text.
Wow. If this transaction had been completed, the Canadiens would have acquired Zegras, while the Ducks would have acquired the young defenseman Mailloux.
Kent Hughes would have also moved back a few spots in the 2024 draft.
Clearly, the Canadiens' general manager was much more active than we thought during the draft in Las Vegas.
But why did Kent Hughes refuse the trade?
As Marco Normandin points out, there seem to be two possible reasons.
First, as he did during the 2022 draft in Montreal, it's possible that Kent Hughes simply protected himself if he missed out on Ivan Demidov.
If Demidov had been drafted in the top four and hadn't been available at the Canadiens' fifth overall pick, would Kent Hughes have drafted a defenseman (like Zeev Buium or Sam Dickinson) and acquired Trevor Zegras via trade?
It's really possible.
Second, it's also possible that Kent Hughes refused the trade simply because he loves Michael Hage.
If Michael Hage hadn't been available at the 21st overall pick, would Trevor Zegras be a Montreal Canadiens player today? Would Logan Mailloux be an Anaheim Ducks player?
That's also a possibility.
In any case, we highly recommend reading Normandin's full text, the link to which is right here at the bottom.
Details will follow.
Credit: HABSolumentFan
EXCLUSIF: Le Canadien avait une entente en place pour acquérir Trevor Zegras
POLL | ||
AOUT 6 | 760 ANSWERS The Canadiens had a trade in place to acquire Trevor Zegras Would you have traded Logan Mailloux and the 21st overall pick for Trevor Zegras and a second-round pick? | ||
Yes | 192 | 25.3 % |
No | 568 | 74.7 % |
List of polls |