With the NHL Draft Lottery now completed, the lottery teams know where they’ll be selecting in this year’s upcoming NHL Entry Draft. That is, of course, assuming they don’t elect to trade their picks for other draft selections, prospects or players who can help their teams immediately. For the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators, that might be a realistic option, as per a couple of reports.
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Benning Will Shop No. 9 pick
Postmedia sports writer covering the Canucks for the Vancouver Province/Sun, Ben Kuzman noted on Twitter that Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning commented on trading the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL draft: “We’re going to look at everything. We’re going to call other teams. I know we’re going to get a real good player in the draft. We’re going to have to get a young player who we feel is worth trading the pick. We’re keeping options open.”
The Canucks are going to be looking at a lot of change over the course of the summer. It seems only natural that the first-round pick will be a piece the Canucks can dangle to either add better depth or move salary off the roster, something they badly need to do.
If a trade isn’t available that the Canucks like, Benning added, “I’m just happy we didn’t lose any (draft) spots. There are nine guys we really like and I’m happy about that. And we’ll take the best player regardless of position.”
Senators Willing to Move Their No. 10 pick
TSN’s Shawn Simpson writes: “My sources tell me the Sens are willing to move up or down, or even move the pick. If they move it, they want a player that can make an impact now. They are also confident Mann will get a great player at 10. They will not draft for need, but will take the best available player.”
While the tweet itself is a little generic and suggests the Senators will look at all options, the information of note to take here is that the Senators are basically not set on keeping the pick and drafting at No. 10 no matter what. A rebuilding team might want to stockpile Top 10 draft picks and call it a day.
Essentially, the Senators, who are rebuilding, want to move that rebuilding process along as quickly as possible and will use the No. 10 pick as a carrot to dangle out there to a team that might be looking to move a good player with salary or grab a player while moving down in the draft a little.
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