Canadiens Have Six Draft Picks Tied To Playoff Outcomes

The Montreal Canadiens have 14 picks going into the 2022 NHL Draft, but the final rank for six of those picks is yet to be known.

Thanks to some good fortune during the NHL Draft Lottery, the Montreal Canadiens will be selecting 1st overall in the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal. By finishing 32nd in the NHL standings this season, not only did the Montreal Canadiens have the best odds to win the Draft Lottery, they were also assured of picking first in rounds 2 to 7. This means, for example, that the Canadiens were confirmed to pick 33rd overall, the first selection in the second round, even without winning the Draft Lottery.

A total of six of those selections are still yet to be determined, as the Canadiens own draft picks originally belonging to the Flames, Oilers, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues. The final outcome in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will ultimately decide where certain picks of interest, most notably the Calgary Flames‘ 2022 1st round pick or the Edmonton Oilers‘ 2022 2nd round pick, will rank on Draft Day.

With the rank of Montreal’s own draft picks now confirmed thanks to the Draft Lottery and their regular-season standings, here is a chart below displaying where each draft pick is projected to land at this time. Those that have yet to be officially decided are marked with a “*”

Key conditions on Edmonton Oilers’ 2022 2nd round pick:

• Oilers pick could move to a 2023 2nd round pick if the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Finals and defenceman Duncan Keith plays top-4 minutes in the process.
• This is due to an early trade which saw the Edmonton Oilers send defenseman Caleb Jones and a conditional 3rd round draft pick in 2022 to the Chicago Blackhawks for Keith and forward Tim Soderlund.
• The Oilers’ 2022 3rd round pick would be upgraded to a 2022 2nd round pick if the above conditions are met, forcing the Oilers to then send Montreal their 2023 2nd round pick as compensation.