Gorton almost hit a home run trade in the draft in Buffalo and could try do it again in Montreal

Kent Hughes' right-hand man, Jeff Gorton, has never been afraid to make a big trade in the various NHL drafts.

He went for the 7th overall pick in 2017, the 22nd overall pick in 2018, the 28th overall pick in 2018, the 19th overall pick in 2020, to name a few.

However, on his most recent episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet) revealed an interesting tidbit about a pick that Gorton was unable to acquire.

In the 2016 draft, Jeff Gorton made multiple aggressive calls and offers, trying to acquire a top-10 pick.


Why?

He had a big crush on young Clayton Keller and he definitely wanted him on his club.

Eventually, as we know, Keller was drafted 7th overall in 2016 by the Arizona Coyotes. Gorton wasn't able to get him.

Today, Keller is 23 years old and has already amassed 256 points (96 goals) in 360 NHL games, including 63 points (28 goals) in 67 games this season.

Gorton was right on the money and he certainly still has to target Keller. We know the Coyotes are open to trading all their players, especially the high earners (Keller makes 7.15 million per season), so this might be a possibility.

Now, let's not assume that a trade is imminent, but know that Keller is a player that Gorton loves.

So, if he ever manages to acquire him in Montreal, we shouldn't be surprised, and it would be really great to have another player of that caliber in our ranks.

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