I don’t have any hard evidence but I’m guessing Montreal Canadiens fans have stopped looking at Tankathon being this close to the playoffs. They are currently in the 17th spot and they have no shot at the first overall pick being out of the top 11. I’m guessing most fans are fine with that.

The NHL has ups and downs and the Canadiens still need a solid pick this year because this draft is going to be much harder to find that talent. They may try to go with a high floor player to limit their risk. They might try and work on center depth or go for a big winger. That’s what I would do in this spot. You will be looking at a possible third-line center or big winger but that’s ok. A defenseman around this spot isn’t worth it. They can swing for a defender in the next round.  The Penguins second is more valuable now that they are bottoming out. Remember, these players will take 4-5 years to get to Montreal.

Winning today doesn’t mean you don’t have to keep stocking the cupboard. Ask the New York Rangers who are all but crushed. Their system isn’t that deep and they went through some of the pain of a rebuild but changed the course.

The goal is to get 2-3 players every draft. If you can get them to play 200 or more games, great. A lot of times that doesn’t happen, for a lot of reasons. It’s not an exact science.