Updated Ranks of Canadiens 2024 NHL Draft Picks

The Montreal Canadiens have 12 picks going into the 2024 NHL Draft, but not all of them have had their rank confirmed…yet.

After a season that saw NHL betting odds successfully predict a bottom-five finish for the Canadiens, they find themselves once again with the 5th overall pick and a dozen picks heading into the summer.

Now in May, all eyes are on the NHL Draft for Montreal Canadiens fans, as the club prepares for one of its most important summers yet. But, before a true draft strategy, be it picks or trades, can come into focus, the rank of each draft pick will need to be determined.

As of this junction, nine of the Canadiens’ 12 draft picks have been confirmed, but they still have three picks that still need to be sorted out, including two in the first two rounds.

Let’s take a look at what’s left to be determined:

Rank (* Projected)	Original Owner Of Pick	Acquisition Method
1st Round	-	-
5th overall	Montreal Canadiens	Owned
27th overall*	Winnipeg Jets	Trade
2nd round	-	-
58th overall*	Colorado Avalanche	Trade
3rd Round	-	-
70th overall	Montreal Canadiens	Owned
78th overall	Minnesota Wild	Trade
4th Round	-	-
102nd overall	Montreal Canadiens	Owned
5th Round	-	-
130th overall	San Jose Sharks	Trade
134th overall	Montreal Canadiens	Owned
6th Round	-	-
166th overall	Montreal Canadiens	Owned
7th Round	-	-
198th overall	Montreal Canadiens	Owned
210th overall	Washington Capitals	Trade
217th overall*	Edmonton Oilers	Trade

Winnipeg Jets 1st-Round Pick

With the Winnipeg Jets eliminated from playoff contention, and one of the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Rangers assured to be eliminated before the end of the second round, the lowest this pick can be is 27th overall.

However, it does have the potential to rise as high as 24th overall, if the other three divisional winners were to be eliminated from the playoffs.

That’s right, a second-round elimination from either the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks or the Dallas Stars would drop the rank of this pick by one; meaning that, if all three lose their current series, this selection would slide down to 24th overall.

That’s because, in the draft order, the final four selections go to the four teams that qualified for their respective Conference Finals. The next picks, starting at 28th overall, are first assigned to divisional winners in order of points, and only then do the regular season standings come into effect.

Here’s a quick scenario to make it a little simpler:

If say, two of the four division champions were to be eliminated from playoff contention in the second round, that would disrupt the draft order quite a bit. For this exercise, let’s say the Florida Panthers and the Dallas Stars end up getting ousted in the second round, and the final four teams standing are the Rangers, Bruins, Avalanche, Canucks.

Then the draft order would play out as such:

• 32nd overall: Stanley Cup Champion
• 31st overall: Runner-Up
• 30th overall: Conference Final Loser With Most Points
• 29th overall: Conference Final Loser With Least Points
• 28th overall: Divisional Champion With Most Points (Dallas)
• 27th overall: Divisional Champion With 2nd most points (Florida -> Philadelphia)
• 26th overall: Non-Division Champion With Most Points (Carolina)
• 25th overall: Non-Division Champion With Second-Most Points (Winnipeg -> Montreal)

The rank of this pick is likely to be confirmed in the next week, but the final range is assured to be between 27th and 24th overall; which is good news for the Montreal Canadiens, especially on the trade front.

Colorado Avalanche 2nd-Round Pick

This is the 2nd-round pick that was acquired alongside Justin Barron in the Arturri Lehkonen trade during the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.

With the Colorado Avalanche still being in the playoffs, this pick is not yet finalized, despite being projected to be 58th overall.

It can still range anywhere from 57th to 65th, depending once again on who the final four teams are in the Conference Finals. It’s important to note that there will be 33 picks in the second round this year due to the Philadelphia Flyers receiving a compensatory pick (49th overall) for not signing 2018 1st-rounder, Jay O’Brien.

So, if Colorado were to be one of the teams to make the Conference Finals, the pick would range between 61st and 65th, depending on how far they go.

Should they lose their series against the Stars, the pick would either be 57th or 58th overall, depending on the outcome of the Oilers-Canucks series.

So let’s use the same example as the one above. If the final four teams standing are the Rangers, Bruins, Avalanche, Canucks, and the Avalanche/Bruins get eliminated in the Stanley Cup Finals; then the draft order would play out as such:

• 65th overall: Stanley Cup Champion
• 64th overall: Runner-Up
• 63rd overall: Conference Final Loser With Most Points (Bruins -> Ducks)
• 62nd overall: Conference Final Loser With Least Points (Avalanche -> Canadiens)
• 61st  overall: Divisional Champion With Most Points (Dallas -> Calgary)
• 60th overall: Divisional Champion With 2nd most points (Florida -> Arizona)
• 59th overall: Non-Division Champion With Most Points (Carolina)
• 58th overall: Non-Division Champion With Second-Most Points (Winnipeg -> Nashville)

Edmonton Oilers 7th-Round Pick

The final piece of another trade that went down at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, this 7th-round pick was acquired along with a 2022 2nd-round pick and William Lagesson in exchange for Brett Kulak.

The Montreal Canadiens selected a certain Lane Hutson with that 2nd-round pick in 2022, and will also be able to make one of the final picks of the 2024 NHL Draft with Edmonton’s selection.

Currently projected at 217th overall, this pick could range anywhere from 217 to 225, depending on how far the Oilers go in the playoffs.