He moved up his second first-round pick by 5 spots, which is significant, but it hides something even bigger.
As he did with Kirby Dach, Hughes could very well complete another trade, either for an established player or to move up even further.
The Canadiens have a lot of prospects and many draft picks for the next three years.
We know that Kent Hughes and the Canadiens' management love young Cole Eiserman, who is expected to go between the 10th and 15th ranks. The organization has met with him several times, with their last meeting being yesterday.
We're talking about the best scorer in the entire draft class, which is far from trivial. Will Kent Hughes trade the 21st pick along with other assets to move up even further?
This is increasingly being said behind the scenes. Clearly, Hughes isn't done shopping, and if he made this trade, he has a plan.
As we never know how a draft will turn out and which player will be available at that rank, this trade really suggests that this is just the beginning.
In another scenario, if the Canadiens were targeting a specific player at the 21st rank, they would have made this trade on the draft floor.
We will see tonight what happens, but expect another announcement involving the Canadiens.
POLL | ||
Do you think Kent Hughes will trade the 21st overall pick again? | ||
Yes | 96 | 29.6 % |
No | 228 | 70.4 % |
List of polls |