The Calgary Flames are currently the biggest surprise in the entire NHL as of this writing.
They, who everyone certainly saw missing the playoffs and finding themselves in the ten worst teams in the league this season, currently have a record of 4-0-0 in their first four games.
But now this unexpected start to the Flames season could well smile on the Montreal Canadiens.
We will remember, when Kent Hughes had acquired the veteran attacker Sean Monahana 1st round pick accompanied him to compensate the CH for the salary space that he would have to use to bring him to Montreal.
This choice, let us remember, was also accompanied by an endless list of conditions.
This list of conditions had also made people say Jamie Davisformer site manager Cap Friendlythat it was the most complex transaction in recent years in the NHL.
“We were at a reception after my sister-in-law’s wedding. That’s when Sean Monahan was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Normally, when a trade happens, I have to disappear for 5 to 10 minutes. But This one had so many conditions that I had to leave for two hours and transcribe all the conditions on a sheet of paper to fully understand the impact of each of them on the draft picks involved as well as the other related exchanges. “
-Jamie Davis
If we summarize, the Canadian will obtain in the 2025 draft the best of the 1st round choices between that of the Calgary Flames or the Florida Panthers. On the other hand, the Flames’ choice is protected Top-10. This means that if they finish at the bottom of the rankings and find themselves with one of the first 10 choices in the draft following the lottery, the Canadian will automatically obtain the one from the Panthers which should be much further away, we presume.
However, with such a start to the season, if the Flames continue to have some success but end up running out of steam as all analysts predicted, they could very well find themselves somewhere between 11th and 15th overall pick. If this were the case, it would automatically be given to the Canadian.
This is why Canadian fans have every interest in following the Flames’ season and encouraging them to win… But not too much.
Imagine if CH found itself next June with two first-round picks inside the Top-15!
If everyone agrees that the transaction Sean Monahan was a masterstroke on the part of Kent Hughesif the first round pick received had to be one in the first half of the selection session, we could call it genius in Montreal.
