You can understand the 4 of the 5 teams who passed on michkov. CLB ,SJ and ANA wanted centers and felt that fantilli/carlsson/smith were comparable to michkov without the russian factor. From
Arizona knew Michkov didn't wanna play for them.
Montreal is the big question mark bc Reinbacher was a reach and the talent level and ceiling difference between the 2 is significant. Montreal also haven't had a potential MVP forward type of player since forever.
Aldo, Michkov would have gladly went to Montreal, because he prioritized hockey cities, none bigger than MTL.
Demidov is gonna save Hughes from the embarassment of this mistake. But imagine having BOTH. This is what Briere was attempting at last year's draft trying to trade for pick no 4.
Demidov-Michkov combo would have been LETHAL.