Major statement from Pierre LeBrun regarding Connor Bedard and the NHL trade market

Connor Bedard's performance at the recent World Junior Championship was nothing short of exceptional. The 17 year old prodigy not only led his team to the gold medal, but also rewrote the tournament record book with a monster 23 points in seven games.

And it's no big surprise that Bedard is considered the top prospect for the upcoming NHL draft, which is said to be one of the best in history.

The 2023 draft is far superior to last year's according to most experts, so much so that some NHL executives are completely changing their strategies for the trade deadline.

According to Pierre LeBrun, several general managers have told him anonymously that they can't pass up the chance to draft a generational talent like Bedard and will do everything in their power to improve their chances in the next NHL draft lottery, which will be held in Nashville in late June.


This is big. LeBrun has suggested that Connor Bedard is completely messing up the NHL trade market right now.

His performance over the past few days will really impact the NHL trade market, and general managers may move more aggressively and quickly.


This means that for the teams that will be sellers at the trade deadline, it would be very possible that they would actually trade some veterans earlier than expected in order to maximize the return, but also potentially add some losses to the counter and that would allow them to improve their percentage in the lottery that will take place at the end of the season.

Currently, at the time of writing, the Chicago Blackhawks have the best percentage of winning the lottery with 18.5%. The Anaheim Ducks follow with 13.5% while the Columbus Blue Jackets close the podium with 11.5% of the chances of getting the first overall pick.

As for the Canadiens, they are sixth at 7.5%, but it should be noted that Kent Hughes also has the Florida Panthers' pick and they are at 5%.

If we do a quick calculation, that's a 12.5% chance of drafting first overall, which is the third best percentage. However, it should be mentioned that the Panthers have been playing much better hockey lately and the team will likely move up in the overall standings, which will decrease the chances of winning the lottery.

But imagine if the percentage stays the same by the end of the season. The Panthers win the lottery and the Habs pick Connor Bedard at the very top. This could be called probably the worst trade in NHL history. Connor Bedard for Ben Chiarot.

Ouch!

But hey, let's just say I had a little fun here but this scenario could still happen and to get back to the serious stuff, Kent Hughes will probably be very active in the next few weeks.

Credit: Habsolumentfan.com