In 2018, Marc Bergevin made a bold move when he selected Finnish centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third overall pick. This meant that Brady Tkachuk (4th), Quinn Hughes (7th), Evan Bouchard (10th) and Noah Dobson (12th), among others, were left on the table.
In one of his final podcasts for The Athletic, Marc-Antoine Godin explained why the Canadiens chose to overlook defenceman Quinn Hughes at that draft. Seeing how well Hughes has been producing offensively since entering the NHL, his reasoning will leave you breathless.
It is clear that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin and his decision-makers focused on their immediate needs rather than the best available player. It is easy to criticize in hindsight, especially when one considers the impressive starts to their respective careers by Quinn Hughes and Brady Tkachuk, but drafting for need, especially at such a high position, is never a good idea.
In 283 games since joining the NHL, Hughes has accumulated 26 goals, 215 assists for a total of 241 points. At the same time, during the past four seasons - since Hughes's first full year in the league - Mete has only played 127 NHL games and has tallied 5 goals and 20 assists for a total of 25 points. In his career, he has amassed 45 points in 247 NHL games - quite low for a defenseman who had been proclaimed as an offensive weapon.
