Montreal Canadiens’ 2026 Draft Storylines to Follow – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

The last time the NHL Entry Draft was hosted in Buffalo was 2016. Back then, the Montreal Canadiens arrived under a cloud of existential dread, still recovering from a season that was shattered when Carey Price’s knee gave out. They hold the ninth overall pick. They used it on a slick, high-character defenseman named Mikhail Sergachev, but traded him after 356 days in a blockbuster gamble to bring in Jonathan Drouin for immediate help.

Ten years later, the frame returns to Buffalo. But with Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton sitting in their remote draft room of the newly minted NHL format, the vibe around this franchise couldn’t be more different.

There is no panic in the air. There is no impending sense of structural collapse. Instead, there’s a quiet, earned confidence in an organization that recently shocked the hockey world by finishing sixth in the NHL regular season standings before bowing out as one of the last four teams standing in the Eastern Conference Final.

But with that success comes a new set of problems for the Canadiens brass. Gone are the days of top five picks, when top talent like Ivan Demidov falls into your lap. Welcome to the late first round grind. Montreal is expected to take the No. 28 seed Friday night, its lowest seed assigned to the first round since the magical 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

So, what do you need to know before the clock starts ticking? Let’s break down the strategy, the goals, and the high-level chess that defined Montreal’s weekend.

28th Pick: Draft or Deal?

Let’s lead with the question dominating the conversation from Rue Sainte-Catherine to the Buffalo press lounge: Will Hughes actually use this pick? Gorton spoke to the media the day before the draft and said their plan was to use him for a future pick, but that was something he said in 2025, when they traded both first-round picks in the Noah Dobson deal.

If history has taught us anything about this group of managers, it’s that they view first-round draft money as currency for established talent, not just a youth lottery ticket. Think back to Kirby Dach. Think back to Alex Newhook. Last summer, Hughes famously traded away the 17th pick — and a first-round pick acquired in the Sean Monahan trade — to make room for Dobson and bolster the NHL’s blue line.

Sitting in the 28th spot in what independent scouts widely consider a shallow, top-heavy draft class, the incentive to trade down or trade up has never been higher.

Multiple league sources indicate that Hughes has actively scouted using the 28th pick as a key part of a package to acquire a top-six pitcher. The Canadiens’ top line is in flux, but the secondary needs a permanent injection of talent if this team intends to repeat its deep playoff run.

Mason McTavish is a player to watch ahead of the trade. As one of the few centers available without trade protection, McTavish naturally has a long list of interested parties, and Montreal is among the most interested. According to Marco D’Amico’s sources, the Anaheim Ducks will be looking for pieces of the NHL as opposed to the future.

“Verbeek is looking for pieces that will fit into his lineup immediately,” the source continued. “They are not looking to regress at all, they want to build on the success of last season.”

The trade requires two willing dance partners, and Montreal has the goods to step up as a partner. In a decentralized draft where general managers are working out of their own military homes, the mechanics of a draft day blockbuster look a little different. If the asking price for the young, established NHLer remains astronomical through Friday afternoon, the Canadiens will comfortably trade in the pick.

Board Test: Who Fits 28?

If Montreal holds on to the No. This is about long-term projections. Given the organization’s depth on defense, the expectation is that Montreal will look mostly to dynamic, upside-down forwards, but some local product on the blue line could make them change their philosophy.

Here are three different names that follow next to the Montreal slot:

1. Tommy Bleyl, RHD (Moncton, QMJHL)

If Bleyl is on the board when Montreal picks, Hughes may run to his microphone. The 18-year-old just put together a historic season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), breaking the league record for points by a rookie defenseman with 13 goals and 68 assists for 81 points in 63 games.