Who will the Canadiens choose No. 1 overall?

It's Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky (or Logan Cooley) at No. 1 for the Montreal Canadiens. Are they playing coy, or has the choice not been made?

Video Transcript

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: And I think the most important thing, what's really going on, what's got everyone's attention, are the Montréal Canadiens and what they might do with the first overall pick. Is it gonna be Shane Wright? Is it gonna be Juraj Slavkofsky? Is it gonna be both Shane Wright and Juraj Slavkofsky? Or neither?

It's-- the intrigue is there, because the Montréal Canadiens are not tipping their hand one way or another. We just listened to Kent Hughes talk about the Montréal Canadiens' process leading into draft week. Anything worth gleaning from that, Julian?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I mean, you mentioned the two names there. You have to add Logan Cooley's name in all of this this fall.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Do we?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: There could be--

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Do we?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I mean, they said there were three different people they were looking at. And--

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: OK, that's fair.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: --to date, we've already seen Wright. We've seen Slavkofsky. Think there were reports going around that, during the combine, they went out to dinner with Wright and Cooley. Cooley also happens to play center. You have to include him in all this if you're going to say there's three people, unless for all their-- unless they have this interest in Simon Nemec or David Jirícek that we have no clue about, [INAUDIBLE].

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: No, we can't extend it past three. We can't-- let's not get crazy.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: That's it. Yeah, we can't get too crazy. But, I mean, I don't know. I feel the Canadiens have been doing this really interesting job at keeping everything to the chest while leaving everyone on the Twittersphere to basically just combat each other or beat people up, virtually speaking, about who they should pick.

Some people say, get Shane Wright. Other people say, get Slavkofsky. It's just been nuts. And meanwhile, the Canadiens are kind of just chilling back and just saying, you know what? We'll let you guys know who it is when it comes time.

I think that Shane Wright has been the right pick all along. I think that the Canadiens have been in need of a center. Yeah, you see what I did there. I think the Canadiens, for the longest while, have needed depth at the center position. And this is a golden opportunity for them to stock up at that point.

I know a lot of people are looking at Slavkofsky, and what he's done at the Olympics and the talent that he has, and where he could be positioned if he plays for the Montréal Canadiens, likely on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. But there are other options out there for them to get a scoring left-winger who can play along them. It's not every day you're able to draft a number one overall pick who could steady-- you could give yourself a 1-2 punch at the center position for what, like, the next decade or so? I think the Canadiens should opt to go for Shane Wright. But there's a reason why I'm here and I'm not sitting in the Canadiens' front office.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Why do you think they're keeping everyone on the edge of their seat? Is there a method to that? Is there a reason? Is it the entertainment factor? I mean, the first time that a city drafting a player-- or organization hosting the draft will draft first overall since 1985 and Wendel Clark?

So there's some theatrical element to this. But is it possible that they just don't really know, or they might be shopping, or they might be looking to maximize or leverage this position as much as possible? Do you think it's sort of a mix of the theatrics and the strategy, or one more than the other?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I don't feel as if the Canadiens need to do that much to generate theatrics, especially in their own city. So I have a hard time thinking that they'd do this purposefully. At the very least, they know them having the pick and having those-- all the high stakes that come with it, they don't-- again, they don't need to do much to kind of generate that.

So I don't think it's theatrics. I'm willing to believe that they genuinely don't know, and they're doing everything they can to examine which pick is right. They did kind of mention during their press conference that the Kent Hughes and Vincent Lecavalier, who's also part of their front office staff, that they are looking to take their time and try to talk to everyone possible and get everyone's opinions in before making a decision.

I think Lecavalier even mentioned that he spoke to Shane Wright. In the next few days, they're gonna speak to Cooley and Slavkofsky, which, I guess you could say, too, it might be a bit weird that you're talking to those two guys so late in the game. But that could be a whole other situation itself. Yeah, I'm willing to believe that the Canadiens might not genuinely know who to pick.

And I would love to know from Kent Hughes, when it comes time, when the team actually knew it was gonna come time for them to pick whoever they pick at number one. It could be possible they might make the decision, like, Thursday morning. They wake up, and they say, OK, this guy is the player.

I'm also intrigued at the fact that there is a possibility they could always trade up in the first round. They do have the two first-round picks. And I think if the right deal comes along, I don't see them moving that first overall pick. I think they see-- I see them trading up, and maybe they get themselves, like, a top 15 pick or something.

I don't see them getting it to a point where they get two top three picks. That would be too insane. But you know what? Stranger things have happened.

I totally see them maybe packaging that first-round pick, maybe moving one of those players that, like, a Josh Anderson or a Jeff Petry, someone on their roster who has been generating a lot of attention. And Christian Dvorak could be thrown in this as well. I think it's more plausible you see some kind of package move where you can get a higher pick for the Canadiens. If they get themselves in the top three, though, that-- that would change everything. And this whole draft would go bananas at that point.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah, talk about theatrics. That would be a power move. That would be something that would really shock and be a memorable moment, especially in Montréal. And it seems somewhat possible, because the New Jersey Devils are open to trading the number two pick for whatever reason.

I'm not sure about the rationale behind that. It doesn't make much sense to me. That's not a team that's ready to take a massive step forward. They didn't just win-- they don't-- they won the lottery, obviously. They didn't get handed something and are ready to add that piece to a championship core.

I think they still have a lot of building to do. But they want to apparently move the number two pick. And if Montréal had anything really worth it to send back, that would be exceptional. But I just don't think they have something that could entice the Devils. At least, I don't believe that's the case.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, look, that's the whole thing about that pick, too, right? 'Cause Filip Forsberg is out there. And I get it-- you know what, you don't want to just trade for Filip Forsberg and not have him in a sign and trade.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

JULIAN MCKENZIE: --Fiala was just moved.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: --good. Yeah.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: [INAUDIBLE].

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: That would be the type of move. Yeah.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Exactly. There are all these other players out there. Like, no disrespect to Josh Anderson. Josh Anderson wouldn't move the needle for me for a number two overall pick--

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: No.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: --compared to what's out there, like a Fiala or-- well, Fiala's already gone, but a Forsberg, for example, right? That would make more sense if there was, like, one rumor that went around where the Islanders might ship their pick for Josh Anderson. And I think they were in the early teens, or in the early tens, like, that makes a little bit more sense.

For number two overall, I feel like if you're Tom Fitzgerald, it seems as if-- from all the reports that go around about him, it seems like he's itching to make some kind of a move. If I'm Tom Fitzgerald, you have to blow me out the water with some player you're looking to offer me for that second overall pick. I understand the draft class, not as big of a deal as what we're looking to make next year's class out of, but they still have an opportunity to get themselves a pretty big impact player in a guy like Juraj Slavkofsky at number two overall. If you're gonna give-- if you want that second overall pick, you gotta give me something in return, if I'm Tom Fitzgerald.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: OK, give me a prediction for the Montréal Canadiens. Who are they spending that first overall pick on? And what do they do in the mid-to-late rounds to either continue to expedite this rebuild process or to just nab another good young player and make this the draft that was-- starts with the Montréal Canadiens, but ends, figuratively, with the Montréal Canadiens?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, I see them just getting right at first overall. They're trading, I think they trade up into the top 15. And I think one or two-- and these are just predictions, not based on intel-- one or both of either Jeff Petry or Josh Anderson are gone, just with the amount of money they have on their contracts and where they're at in their careers, I-- and how open at least Kent use has been with Jeff Petry, maybe a little less so with Josh Anderson, they've been over the last few days on those files.

I think we're gonna see some moves from the Montréal Canadiens. It's gonna be a really interesting offseason for them. I think they're in a position where they want to clear some salary and start building towards the team of the future that they want to put together.

Obviously, Carey Price's health is gonna be a huge, huge factor on how they go about some of their offseason plans. But I think with some of the moves they can make if they're able to-- I think Jeff Petry probably more likely than Anderson, but Petry definitely, I think, in the next few days. I could totally see it happen.

I see them moving up. I see them moving around some of their picks as well. They have so many. I mean, I don't think you're gonna see them use all of them. Maybe you turn some of the-- I think they have, like, a handful of third-round picks. They could easily turn that into a way for them to move up into the second round, for example.

Yeah, I see them kind of shipping away some of their picks to kind of move up in some of the rounds in. Again, I don't see them picking two picks in the first three picks. But that would be a crazy move to see. But I think they'll move-- I wouldn't be surprised if they move that 26 and they turn it into a 15th or a 14th overall pick.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Kent Hughes wants to make something happen, which means it should be an entertaining draft night in Montréal and, more specifically, for the Canadiens.