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Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens To Pick Top-5 In 2022 NHL Draft

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NHL Draft

The Montreal Canadiens are now assured to be picking top-5 when the 2022 NHL Draft rolls into town on July 7th.

With the NHL Draft Lottery including a lottery for the first and second overall picks, it is possible that the Canadiens could fall back a maximum of two spots. Thus, in Montreal’s current situation, they can’t finish lower than 30th overall (3rd to last), meaning that, in the worst-case scenario, they would pick 5th overall if the season were to end now and the lottery does not go in their favour.

Their most recent loss to the Flyers on Thursday night sealed Montreal’s fate in ensuring they have a bottom-three finish this season in the NHL standings. The Canadiens currently have 51 points in 78 games, with four more games left on their schedule. Even if the Canadiens were to win every single game from here on out, they would finish no higher than 30th overall, due to the Philadelphia holding the tiebreaker. The Flyers have 19 regulation wins compared to the Canadiens’ 14 wins, meaning that Montreal winning their next four games in regulation would not push them past the Flyers.

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens could ensure a top-4 selection at the upcoming NHL Draft with one more loss over their next four games. They’re set to play the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins in a back-to-back setting, followed by two final games against the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers. Anything is possible in hockey, but it wouldn’t be surprising that the Canadiens would ultimately lose at least one of those games and ensure they finish 31st overall or lower.

The other elephant in the room is the Arizona Coyotes, who currently sit one point back of the Montreal Canadiens with a game in hand. The Montreal Canadiens simply need to have the same number of points as the Coyotes to drop to 32nd in the NHL in the standings. Should the Coyotes accrue more points in the standings over the next week than the Montreal Canadiens, the Habs would finish dead last and would have a guaranteed shot at a top-3 pick with the highest offs in the NHL Draft Lottery on May 10th.

The Montreal Canadiens would likely be able to pick one of Shane Wright, Logan Cooley, Simon Nemec, Matthew Savoie and Juraj Slafkovsky, who are seen as the best young players of this crop of rapidly developing youngsters.

The Canadiens and their fans have gone through a lot of hardship over the last few months, but there will be a lot to be excited about very soon. The Canadiens will soon ensure their ability to select a high-end player to join the team’s future core with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki down the road, continuing to add to what will surely become a young and exciting offensive team.