This time last year we were all absolutely convinced that the Habs were going to take Wright because we had a hole at center and it was the obvious slam dunk choice with the draft in Montreal and the home crowd wanting him. We all assumed they would have leaked stuff to prepare the fanbase for anyone other than Wright going at #1, and they didn't. I feel like I need to make that very clear.
This same front office had a #1 overall pick with the draft held in Montréal and a fanbase/general public that were convinced CHL Exceptional Status player and Hockey Canada golden boy Shane Wright was the clear #1 choice to fill a 30+ year hole at the most important position in hockey, and they did not indicate they were going to pick Slafkovsky until minutes before the pick itself despite having the first pick of the draft at home with a fanbase excited to pick Wright.
If you think we are going to get accurate information from these guys about their opinion on Michkov when they're picking FIFTH in the draft and directly behind San Jose who are obviously in for a long-term tank job, I have a bridge to sell you. There will be tons of people in here trying to compare this decision to Galchenuyk or Kotkaniemi or Slafkovsky for some reason over the next month, freaking out about curses, risk-averse decisions, or using whatever other logic to whip themselves into a frenzy about hypothetically not taking Michkov. All of this speculation will be vague guesswork at best. The Habs have not even begun their final meetings or begun finalizing their lists, yet people are already convinced we're taking someone else and going chicken little over hypothetically passing on a guy who may not even be available at 5 a month from now!
We won't know until the day of the draft, and potentially even a few minutes before our pick. There is no point freaking out about it right now. Hughes is not going to come out and say
"Hey everyone! We, the Montréal Canadiens, have invested our immense resources in evaluating this situation and have decided that we are absolutely certain to pick Matvei Michkov in the 2023 draft if he is available to us, but pretty please San Jose Sharks do not pick him because we just want him so bad!!!!!"
The draft is unpredictable, what if Hughes comes out and declares he's 100% taking Michkov at 5, and then Smith goes at 3 and San Jose surprises everyone and takes Reinbacher at 4, leaving a choice between Michkov and Carlsson? There is no upside for the Habs to show their hand, there is so much uncertainty in this draft and the Habs benefit from being ambiguous about their plans. Chicago's front office has been more candid about prospects because their choice is obvious, but the other teams are not going to give anything beyond vague platitudes. Anaheim likely isn't even 100% locked in on Fantilli yet!
