Canadiens Draft Intentions, RFA Signings, Trade Talk, and UFAs

Montreal Canadiens Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, Jeff Gorton, met with the media on Thursday evening, discussing several topics ahead of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

We have to keep in mind that members of the management won’t divulge much at this point of the season, especially when it comes to draft intentions, trade targets, or restricted free agency, but Gorton did offer up some new information as to the fate of certain restricted free agents. The Habs are going to qualify both Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj, which was to be expected, but they are not going to tender forward Jesse Ylonen a qualifying offer, which essentially makes the end of his time with the team. Of course, the Habs could always let him become a free agent and sign him for less than his qualifying offer, but that doesn’t seem to be the route the team is going to take when it comes to the 24-year-old tweener.

Gorton also said he was impressed with the meeting he had today with top 2024 prospect Ivan Demidov.

Jeff Gorton On Scouting In Russia

“Everyone thinks differently, and it’s a little harder when you can’t get your whole organization there to see players live, that changes things a little. But we adapted during the Covid period, and we’re pretty good at it now. We also have a good feel for Russian players since we have good people there.”

Jeff Gorton On The Similarities Between Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov

“They’re two different players. You scout players, you evaluate them. We’re in the business of finding the best player, and that’s what we’re trying to do. I don’t think those two players are related, and it has no bearing on what we’ll do tomorrow.”

Jeff Gorton On The Montreal Canadiens Draft Intentions

“I know Kent [Hughes] made a big speech about taking a forward, to have fun with you guys, but it’s very hard [to discuss what we’ll do]. This is the day before the draft, and the rare a lot of cameras here. I’d be uncomfortable discussing it.

Jeff Gorton On Taking The Next Step

“We’re looking at a lot of scenarios, that’s our job. You always want to have a better team when you come back. That’s what we’re in the process [of doing] now. It would be nice to come back and add to the group. We’re a rebuilding team. It’s boring to say, but we’re trying to get better every day.”

Jeff Gorton On The 2024 NHL Entry Draft

“This draft is similar to others. I can’t say this draft is better than last year, or is going to be better than next year. I find that scouts always find a few great players at every position, that’s what they do. There’s a lot of good players in this draft, a lot of opportunities to get better. Last year, I felt the same way.”

Jeff Gorton On Potential No.5 Overall Trades

“I feel confident we’re picking at No.5. I don’t want to say 100%, and the phone is still ringing, things are happening, but five is a great opportunity for us. It’s a season where you want to take advantage of the draft since you’re a lottery team.”

Jeff Gorton On Trades In General

“We are armed with a lot to trade, to make trades happen. We’re in a lot of conversations that we wouldn’t be in if we weren’t. If there was a deal, I wouldn’t tell you. I know it’s redundant, but we’ll look at anything. We’re trying to win. We’re trying to move this thing forward, and this is a big weekend for that.”

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Jeff Gorton On Free Agency

“We’ve gone through the scenarios, of what kind of players we might be looking at. We’ll see on Monday whether or not those people think the same way we do. I think we have the ability to be better, and we’re going to try to do that. We have a lot of young players that are developing. I wouldn’t want to stunt someone’s growth with a long term deal for an older player.”