Jul 8, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; General view of the Montreal Canadiens table during the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft at the Bell Centre. Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis and General Manager Kent Hughes on the left. Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f660a8e1-45f8-4b1c-85d1-c9fde6babd8d.jpeg] Jul 8, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; General view of the Montreal Canadiens table during the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft at the Bell Centre. Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis and General Manager Kent Hughes on the left. Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images The NHL held its draft lottery on Monday night, and unlike in the last few years, Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] fans weren’t glued to their TV to see if their favourites struck gold. Thanks to their playoff qualification, the Habs weren’t in the lottery this season and already knew they’d be drafting 17th overall. Canadiens: Lane Hutson Nominated For Top Rookie Award [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-lane-hutson-nominated-for-top-rookie-award] Canadiens: The Brass’ Final Word On The Season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-the-brass-final-word-on-the-season] Canadiens' Farm Team Drops Game Three [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-farm-team-drops-game-three] However, they were indirectly in the lottery since they had obtained the Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames]’ pick when they traded for Sean Monahan before the 2022-23 season. The Alberta outfit had very slim chances of moving up in the draft, and they didn’t, remaining in the 16th spot. This means the Canadiens will have back-to-back picks at numbers 16 and 17. Since the pick was top 10 protected, if the Flames had won the lottery, they would have been allowed to send the Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers]’ pick to the Canadiens instead, but they weren’t that lucky. The New York Islanders had lady luck on their side [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-win-2025-nhl-draft-lottery] on Monday night; they moved from the 10th place to the top spot. Former Canadiens’ netminder Patrick Roy’s team only had a 3.5% chance of winning in the draw, making the feat even more remarkable. As things stand, the Canadiens have 12 picks at the next draft: the 16th and 17th overall selections in the first round, the 41st (acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] in the Mike Hoffman deal) and 49th overall in the second round, the 79th, 81st, and 82nd overall selections in the third round, the 108th and 113th overall in the fourth round, the 145th in the fifth round, the 177th in the sixth round, and the 209th overall in the seventh round. Needless to say, Montreal has plenty of picks to use on the trade market if the occasion arises. Kent Hughes has been known to pull deals at or just before the draft, acquiring Kirby Dach at his first draft, trading for Alex Newhook on the eve of his second, and trading picks to move up in his third draft to land Michael Hage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
