Simulation : Habs could trade 5th overall pick to Calgary?

PUBLICATION

Carl Vaillancourt
May 9, 2024 (7:57 PM)

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The Editor-in-Chief and prominent journalist of The Athletic, Arpon Basu, proposed a trade a few hours after the unveiling of the NHL Draft Lottery for the June draft in Vegas.

The order of the top 16 teams is now known. Speculations about potential trades can now begin until June 28. The subscription-based internet media outlet assigned a journalist from San Jose for the Sharks, a journalist from Chicago for the Blackhawks, a journalist from Montreal for the Canadiens, and so on, to establish a realistic simulation of the upcoming draft.

Unlike the speculations seen here in Montreal by various journalists, this exercise has the merit of having a local context. Journalists assigned to each team's activities have the opportunity to interact with the organization's management during the season. This means they have a better understanding of their mindset. Local journalism is unparalleled!

This allowed the organization to make a very interesting trade proposal between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames.

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

And as part of this exercise, only one 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 made"

Essentially, Arpon Basu, acting as the designated "General Manager" for the Canadiens in the simulation, saw Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom being selected by teams with picks before the Canadiens'.

With this in mind, Kent Hughes' stand-in decided to move back to the ninth position.

MOCK TRADE: The Canadiens trade the 5th overall pick to the Calgary Flames in exchange for the 9th overall selection as well as the Vancouver Canucks' first-round pick

The Flames acquired this first-round pick when they traded Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks. Even though the first-round pick should be close to the Winnipeg Jets' pick, you can never have enough talented young players in the minors. You never know who will emerge in 3 or 4 years.

"With Ivan Demidov and Cayden Lindstrom selected within the first four picks, the worst-case scenario unfolded for the Canadiens. The decision had to be made to either take a forward at 5th, take a right-handed defenseman - Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk were there - or trade down, acquire additional draft capital, and get the forward they've been eyeing from the start.

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

-Arpon Basu

Are the fans in agreement with such a trade? Would you be happy to see Kent Hughes make a similar trade at the amateur draft on June 28?

It would be an incredible twist for Flames fans, who dream of seeing Jarome Iginla's offspring succeed in Calgary as his father did. We remember the incredible run of the Flames in 2004 when the team fell in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Fiction or reality? Only time will tell...

Credit: HABSolumentFan - The Athletic predicts a catastrophe scenario for the Canadiens in the draft