Cowan: Will Canadiens follow Panthers' roster-building blueprint?
Now that the Florida Panthers have been crowned Stanley Cup champs for the second straight season, the focus will switch to the June 27-28 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles.
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There will be no shortage of mock drafts and prospect analysis until then, and Montreal fans will be wondering whether the Canadiens will keep their two first-round picks (Nos. 16 and 17) or look to trade them to fill the second-line centre hole and/or add some experience on defence. The Canadiens hold 10 other picks at the draft — two in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.
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'As somebody that has a long history with the draft, would I like more draft picks right now?' Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president (hockey operations) asked after the Canadiens were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Washington Capitals. 'You always want more … more swings at it during the draft.'
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Gorton could have accumulated more draft picks if he had traded players eligible to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 — including Jake Evans (who was re-signed), Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia and David Savard (now retired) — but decided to keep them all, figuring they would give the Canadiens a better chance of making the playoffs.
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Gorton was right and the experience young players gained in the playoffs is something you can't buy.
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'If we would have traded some of the players we were talking about trading, I don't think we would have made it,' Gorton said. 'So there's no regrets.'
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With all that in mind, it's interesting to note that only four Florida players were selected by the Panthers at the draft — all in the first round.
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Captain Aleksander Barkov was the No. 2 overall pick at the 2013 draft, defenceman Aaron Ekblad was the No. 1 pick in 2014, Anton Lindell was No. 12 in 2020 and Mackie Samoskevich was No. 24 in 2021. Samoskevich only played in four playoff games. Of the other 19 Panthers to play at least one playoff game, 11 were signed as free agents, seven were acquired via trade and one was claimed off waivers.
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