Draft: if the Habs want Caleb Desnoyers, the Blackhawks are ready to negotiate

Dose
Crédit: Photo by Dale Preston/Getty Images

For the first time since 2021, the Canadiens don’t have a top-5 draft pick. So, unlike in other years, there’s less focus on the big names in Montreal… but there’s one name that’s got the city talking: Caleb Desnoyers.

The Québécois is, after all, the best prospect to come out of the province since Alexis Lafrenière… and for the Habs, who are looking for a second center (who, ideally, would be left-handed), Desnoyers ticks quite a few boxes.

The big problem, though, is that the Habs don’t draft until the 16th spot. Desnoyers will be long gone by then, so Kent Hughes will have to work hard if he wants to move up to select him.

We knew that the Mammoth, at No. 4, was open to trading his pick. However, according to Frank Seravalli’s report on DFO Rundown today, there’s another team ready to talk: the Blackhawks, who have the third pick.

At that rank, the Habs would be virtually assured of selecting Desnoyers.

After all, it’s far from impossible for Desnoyers to emerge at #3 if the Blackhawks keep their pick. In such a scenario, the Habs wouldn’t gain much by going after the Mammoth’s pick… unless they preferred Porter Martone to Desnoyers, for example.

But we agree that if the club does move forward, it will probably be for Desnoyers, who took his interview with the Habs very seriously and who “would have a bit more to give” if he played in Montreal.

According to Seravalli, the Blackhawks want “a player who can make a difference”. You’d think the Habs wouldn’t be interested in trading Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson or Ivan Demidov… but would the Blackhawks see a player like Juraj Slafkovský (who may be untouchable, too) or Cole Caufield as a player who could fit that profile?

The Habs can ill-afford to trade a guy like Caufield, of course… but he could be the bargaining chip they need to get Desnoyers.

In any case, having said that, it’s interesting to see the 3rd pick potentially on the market. It’s another path that could lead the Habs to Desnoyers, but it’s obviously going to be expensive.

Because no, I don’t think the Blackhawks would be very interested in a deal that would send Kirby Dach back to Chicago, for example.

Overtime

– Jonathan Toews: It’s between the Jets and the Avalanche.

– Whew.

– Very cool, that.