NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Open to Trading Draft Picks

The Montreal Canadiens are hosting draft weekend and all their guests could be in line for an entertaining weekend. General manager Kent Hughes spoke to the media on Monday and admitted the team is willing to listen to just about every trade scenario. The open-minded executive is trying to re-tool as fast as possible and doesn't appear shy to make some bold moves.

Hughes likes to keep his options open and Habs fans should expected the unexpected as their GM gets set for his first offseason. They have 14 picks at the draft and some players openly on the trade market. Hughes had this to say about where exactly he sees his team on the draft board:

It's possible we'll trade up, it's possible we'll trade out. All possibilities are open. I think there's a stronger chance we'll move up with our second pick in the first round than there is we'll trade the first pick

Keeping the first pick seems logical and likely for the Canadiens as Hughes confirmed the team is only considering Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky or Logan Cooley with the opening selection. Montreal knows Cooley very well and don't appear to love pairing Wright with Nick Suzuki down the middle. Slafkovsky has jumped up into #1 pick contention throughout the past few months and some of the best insiders in hockey see him as the best player available.

Hughes isn't worried about all the hoopla about going number one, he's more concerned about who develops into the best player over the next five-to-ten seasons. There's a ton of pressure on the Canadiens to get this right as the spotlight is shining bright with them hosting the beginning of the offseason. It all begins July 7 & 8.