2024 NHL Draft Could Have Played Out Differently If Canadiens Trade for Trevor Zegras
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning Skate with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin on Wednesday and was asked about the Montreal Canadiens’ signing of Ivan Demidov. Friedman mentions the Canadiens tried to trade for Trevor Zegras at the 2024 NHL Draft but decided to keep the fifth overall pick to get Demidov.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens, and the Minnesota Wild
Gord Stellick: “So curious what they’re going to get. So let’s face it, you expect him to play in Montreal. And fifth overall pick last year, he was the first one that was like a 19-year-old, because he was a December birth, so a little bit older. 49 points in 65 games- that’s not easy in the KHL. I mean, that’s a man’s league that he’s basically a kid playing in. And we’ve seen before, whether it was, you know, Chris Kreider, Cale Makar, Matthew Knies, NCAA graduates, making an immediate impact in the playoffs. What’s the skinny scouting report you’re getting about him?”
Elliotte Friedman: “Well, I know a few people who’ve seen him over the last little while, and they say he’s a total stud Gord. Like, they think he’s really legit and he’s going to be a huge player for them. And you could tell I’m here, actually, I’m taping something today with Martin St Louis, and so I was at the game last night. And the fans here are excited about this team right now. Like, they basically put a stake in the Detroit Red Wings last night (Tuesday night), and they’re right there to clinch a playoff berth.
And especially if you go back to the beginning of December, nobody thought that was going to be happening. And so everybody here is really excited about that. And then the news , they were really excited about that. So, he’s an impact player. He has a chance to be a hugely impactful player.
NHL Rumors: The Anaheim Ducks Are Still Taking Calls on Trevor Zegras
And I’ll tell you something else there. One of the things I’m kind of writing about today was there were people telling me there were two trades that could have really changed the course of the draft last year. One of them was, Chicago took (Artyom) Levshunov with the second pick, and then they offered Columbus this year’s number one for the fourth overall selection, which Columbus didn’t take. They had decided to keep it and take Cayden Lindstrom.
Montreal was also looking at a deal for Trevor Zegras, and I don’t think it was the fifth overall pick. Probably my sense is it was probably the later first-round pick, though I don’t know that for sure. But they were looking at a deal for Zegras, and when Demidov started dropping, I think the Canadiens changed their minds and they kept on. They didn’t make the deal, and they drafted Demidov.
And so, like, there were a couple of occasions last year in the draft where things could have gone in different ways, but they didn’t. They kept the player, and now we’re going to reap the rewards.
Like I was in the press box [Tuesday} night, and the rumor was he could play as soon as Monday. They host Chicago on Monday. We’ll see. But this place is very exciting. Gordon. Everyone I know who’s seen him says he’s the real deal.”
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