The Montreal Canadiens head into the 2025 NHL Entry Draft with two first-round selections. They hold the 16th and 17th overall picks, meaning they have the rare opportunity to make back-to-back selections. However, it’s unclear whether or not they will retain these picks. The Canadiens are coming off their first playoff berth in four years, and it has signaled the end of the rebuild for the organization. Montreal already has a loaded prospect pool, as well as an abundance of draft capital. They would ideally like to use this leverage to improve their NHL roster for next season. But how will they accomplish this? Let’s take a look at the Montreal Canadiens options with their 2025 first-round picks.
Montreal Canadiens Options with First-Round Picks
The Canadiens have two clear holes that need to be addressed on their NHL roster. They desperately need a second-line centre to play behind Nick Suzuki. Secondly, they need a shutdown right-shot defenceman to pair with Lane Hutson. While there are some options in free agency this offseason, their best chance at filling these holes is via trade. Montreal would like to add players with term that fill their timeline for their future and can move forward with their young core. Adding players with size would also be ideal for the Habs. When you look around the league at players who fit this criteria, the likes of Mason McTavish and Noah Dobson come to mind. The Canadiens aren’t necessarily targeting these two players in particular, but it gives an idea of the type of players they would target in a trade.
Package One or Both Picks for Impact Players
Montreal has the assets to make one or two trades this offseason. While their core young players, such as Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, and David Reinbacher, are off-limits, they still have numerous young prospects and draft picks to facilitate a trade. Kent Hughes won’t be afraid to sacrifice one or both of their first-round picks if he sees a trade that will improve his club now and in the future.
Trade Into the Top-10
In a draft class that is considered by many scouts to have a significant drop off outside the top 10-12 prospects, the Canadiens hold the 16th and 17th picks. While in every draft class, some players fall, for example, Cole Eiserman last season, who fell to 20. However, the likelihood of the player they’re targeting falling to them at 16th is low. However, with two first-round selections and seven total picks in the first three rounds, the Canadiens can move into the top tier of the draft.
There have been rumours that teams like Boston, Utah, and Nashville may look to move down in the draft. This opens the door for Montreal and general manager Kent Hughes to make their move. The player they would be targeting if they were to move into the 4-7 range would be Caleb Desnoyers. The Quebec-born product is exactly the player the Habs need to fill the void at the second-line centre position. Trading one or both first-rounders to acquire a player of Desnoyers’ calibre is not out of the realm of possibility.
Make Both Selections
It seems unlikely that the Canadiens will use both of their highest selections in this year’s draft. The 2025 class is viewed as one of the weaker ones in recent memory and one that is very top-heavy. With the abundance of prospects in their system, it seems far more likely that Montreal will move at least one of their picks for an impact player.
They could also opt to do what they did last season when they had two selections in the first round. Montreal used their first pick to select Demidov while packaging their second first-rounder with other picks to move up to 21 and select Michael Hage. We could see them do something similar and move up slightly into the draft to scoop up a player they are targeting. Similarly, if none of their targets on their radar are available in their range, they could recoup assets and move down in the first round.
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
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