By reaching the semifinals of the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens made sure not to be able to speak up to 28th place, except for trade.
Should the Habs lose to the Vegas Golden Knights, in their series starting Monday, in Nevada, Mark Bergiveen and Trevor Timmins will speak for 28th.
If the Canadian reaches the Grand Final, these two men will name a potential 30th in the event of a loss and 31st in the event of a win.
In its history, the Montreal organization has never spoken so late with its first choice, when it had a first-round pick.
Twice, in 2014 and 2015, the Canadian climbed to the podium at number 26 to pick his first prospect for the annual classic. It turned out that those choices are striker Nikita Scherbak and defender Noah Goulsen.
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In the June 2 lottery, the Buffalo Sabers were given the first pick for the 2021 auction, while the expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, will be the first-ever pick in their history right after that.
For their part, the Arizona Coyotes saw their first-round selection due to Bettman’s tour enlistment policy violation.
In addition to the first-round pick, the Canadian earned his second-round pick, as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning pick, which was earned by a 2020 fourth-round pick—which turned out to be Sean Farrell—as opposed to a 57th selection in the last draft.
