If the trend continues, the Canadian will still have a good choice in the next draft.
At the time of writing these lines, CH has the best chance of winning the lottery… But we agree that there is still a lot of hockey to be played.
The Habs have only played 15 games out of 82, after all.
That said, seeing that the club is struggling and that it has not been able to win for a few weeks, Elliotte Friedman came to the following conclusion: it is time for the Canadian to start targeting James Hagens.
Friedman believes that the Canadian is not one transaction away from participating in the playoffs (or even believing in it)… And that pushes the informant to think that it would be ideal for the CH to stick with the defeats to have the best possible chances of drafting the American, who plays in the NCAA with Boston College University.
He talked about CH’s poor start to the season in the recent episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast, which he hosts alongside Kyle Bukauskas:
Friedman states that there is no point for the CH to finish 26th or 27th in the NHL because the Montreal organization needs another big choice to rebuild the club.
And seeing how the team has behaved since the start of the season, these comments are not illogical.
On the other hand… We know the competitive nature of Martin St-Louis and I have a hard time believing that he would accept this plan.
Tanker for Hagens, it’s good on paper… But it also comes with negatives because the Canadian will have to lose most of the time to have the best chance of drafting him.
For me, that’s what really sticks with me here… Because young people cannot grow and evolve in defeat.
Moreover, Hagens spoke to Nicolas Cloutier (TVA Sports) in a great interview and he shared his love for the city of Montreal.
The young man believes that it would be “cool” to play for the Canadian because Montreal is a beautiful place and because the club’s fans are passionate:
It’s easy to think about James Hagens right now since the Canadian is sitting last in the National League standings.
And hearing him say that he would like to play in Montreal (even if he didn’t say the opposite), that will please those who want to see him be drafted by the CH next June.
That said, it’s up to Kent Hughes and his group to assess the situation and make a decision.
The idea of adding another excellent top-5 pick is appealing in the current context, even if it doesn’t necessarily fit with the organization’s goal for the season.
At some point, Hughes will have to decide if you pull the plug or not… And if that happens, that’s where we could see certain veterans like Jake Evans or David Savard leave via transaction.
In burst
– We’re going to see that today.
– Hum…
– The Rocket also has a big week.
– Wow!
– It would be magical.
– They will play an important role within the training.
