Habs Daily: Canadiens Draft Intentions, Trade Talk, Ylonen

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Thursday.

Montreal Canadiens News

The 2024 NHL Entry Draft gets underway today, with the first round starting at 7 pm ET. The Montreal Canadiens have two scheduled picks in the first round. Their own pick will be 5th overall, while the pick they acquired in the Sean Monahan deal at the trade deadline is set at 26th overall. To get a better idea of the possibilities for both picks we did a roundup of 25 mock drafts from various outlets. [Canadiens Draft Talk: Mock Draft Roundup – Likely Habs Picks]

According to Pierre LeBrun, the Philadelphia Flyers offered the 12th overall pick in 2024, as well as a roster player, and a 2025 first-round pick in exchange for the fourth overall pick this year, which is currently owned by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus rejected the offer that would have seen the Flyers leapfrog the Habs. As for who the Flyers were targeting with the fourth overall pick, the logical choice points to centre Cayden Lindstrom.   [Flyers Made Aggressive Draft Trade Offer To Leapfrog Canadiens]

Jeff Gorton met with the media on Thursday to discuss a plethora of subjects, including the team’s draft intentions, potential trades, free agency, and more. Gorton also confirmed both Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron will be qualified, whereas tweener Jesse Ylonen will not, making him an unrestricted agent.  [Canadiens Draft Intentions, RFA Signings, Trade Talk, and UFAs]

The NHL has put four rules changes into effect, including the option for head coaches to challenge a puck-over-the-glass penalty. With all due

National Hockey Now Network

• The Florida Panthers have been burning that midnight oil since winning the Stanley Cup on Monday night. Matthew Tkachuk, talking at a promotional event in Pompano Beach Thursday morning, said he has slept three hours — total — since Florida won the Cup. Tkachuk and the team partied into the wee hours of the morning at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise following their 2-1 win in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. A bunch of players then headed over to Tkachuk’s waterfront abode in Fort Lauderdale where they kept the party going. [Florida Panthers]
• The Nashville Predators are reportedly interested in Steven Stamkos in the event the 34-year-old centre reaches free agency come July 1. [Nashville Predators]
• The New Jersey Devils are going through a bit of a makeover this summer. In fact, they’ve already started by acquiring their desired goaltender, solidifying their crease presence before we even got to the 2024 NHL Draft. There’s expected to be more activity leading up to the weekend, and perhaps it will even go down on the draft floor. Internally, however, there are still some decisions to be made, including with veteran defenceman/winger, Brendan Smith. [New Jersey Devils]