It just so happens those teams also have the best asset in the league: cap space. So too is Seattle, picking fourth, Philadelphia, picking fifth and Ottawa picking seventh. What also makes this draft so interesting is the number of teams that need to have rapid improvement. New Jersey is one of them. Heck, we still aren’t sure who will go first overall. I do believe it to be a two-horse race between Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovsky, and I truly believe Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens don’t have a final decision on which one they will take yet. In a perfect world, the Habs find a way to acquire the second overall pick from New Jersey, likely for a player who can help the Devils right away (think Josh Anderson), make a big splash for the home crowd, and make it fun for us media types. In that scenario, the internal debate in the Montreal war room ends, and the Canadiens can get two building blocks for the long-term plan. This year, I would say there is a group of 10 players who should fill out the first 10 picks, but even then, the order of those names will vary greatly from team to team. Usually, there are discernible tiers to a draft class, making it easier to group players and have some measure of what other teams will do and which players might be available to them at their pick. Out goes the notion that there is any certainty as to whom will be picked where. For a broadcaster/writer, it’s quite exciting. Typically drafts have some measure of predictability, but 2022 is not a typical draft year.
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