Blue Jackets likely to keep the No. 3 pick
Jeff Svoboda: Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said that they had received some trade offers for the No. 3 pick that involved some good NHL players but they weren’t close enough to move the pick.
Kekalainen said there’s a “99.9 percent” chance that they make the pick.
The Sharks pick is likely to come down to Leo Carlsson or Will Smith
Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News: San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier said that it’s unlikely that they trade the No. 4 pick in the draft and will take the best player available. It will likely come down to Leo Carlsson or Will Smith.
“The philosophy when you’re picking that high is to take the best player available,” Grier said. “That all that being said, I think every team in the league is looking for centers and for the most part, the only way to get centers is to draft a center.”
The Canadiens could look to trade back from No. 5 and the Predators did call
David Pagnotta: Have been hearing that among the potential trades the Montreal Canadiens have been talking about, is the possibility of trading down from the No. 5 slot.
Michael Gallagher: Have heard that the Nashville Predators did approach the Canadiens about the No. 5 but am not sure how serious the talks are/were.
The Blackhawks draft plans and the idea of moving up
Ben Pope: Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson on the Blackhawks draft plans: “Staying where we are, at 19 and those four 2nd-round picks, is totally fine by me based on how we feel things are going to fall in the first 60 picks. We think there’s the potential to get some really good impact players in that 2nd round.”
Charlie Roumeliotis: Davidson when asked about packaging some of their second-round picks to move up: “It’s something we’re definitely open to but at the same time, the four second-round picks are going to be in a range where there’s a lot of good players that we really do like.”