Following the game seven wins by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks, the order for the NHL Draft is known for all eliminated teams and the Montreal Canadiens will select 25th in each round.
The Canadiens draft behind teams that finished ahead of them in the standings like the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild because they won their division. Division winners who do not make the conference final pick at the bottom of the first round regardless of how many points they picked up, and then they are sorted amongst each other.
Montreal could have picked as low as 26th in each round if Anaheim and Washington both won their games. If Edmonton had won, Montreal would have drafted 24th since the Ducks, also a division winner, had more points than the Canadiens.
The final four teams make up the end of the every round, with the Stanley Cup winners picking 31st and the runners up 30th. The two teams to lose the Eastern and Western Conference Finals will pick 28th and 29th.
Montreal also has Washington’s second round pick, and we now know that pick will be 27th in the second round, or 58th overall.
Here is an updated chart with details on the Canadiens picks in 2017 and beyond. Note that compensatory picks are not included, so the exact draft selection in later rounds may change.
2017
1 The Canadiens traded Lars Eller to the Washington Captials during the first round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The return was Washington’s second-round picks in both 2017 and 2018.
Montreal’s fourth-round pick was added into the deal on February 27, 2017 that saw Jordie Benn join the team in exchange for Greg Pateryn heading to the Dallas Stars.
The Habs’ sixth-round pick was packaged with AHL defenceman Jonathan Racine in the acquisition of Nikita Nesterov from the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 26, 2017.
Montreal’s seventh-round pick was traded to Winnipeg on June 25, 2016 for Winnipeg’s seventh-round choice in 2016.
2018
1 see 2017 note 1.
2 Chicago’s second-round pick and Phillip Danault were acquired by Montreal for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann on February 26, 2016.
3 Montreal traded a conditional fourth-round pick ahead of the 2017 trade deadline to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Dwight King. If King is on the reserve roster between July 1 and November 15 of next season, or if the Habs advance to the third round of the 2017 playoffs and King plays at least half the games to get there, LA will obtain Montreal’s third-rounder instead.
Montreal’s sixth-round pick in 2018 was shipped off to the Detroit Red Wings on February 28, 2017 for Steve Ott.
