Should the Montreal Canadiens consider pursuing Leon Draisaitl after a successful draft?

Todd Matthews made a lot of sense when he explained why trading Leon Draisaitl would be a terrible strategy. He mentioned that they should sign Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, Lane Hutson, Joshua Roy, Jordan Harris, Logan Mailloux, and David Reinbacher to long-term contracts when the time comes. Draisaitl’s contract would be an anchor to keep all of those players, and it would be better to see the team grow together.

However, the results of the 2024 NHL Draft make me wonder if Leon Draisaitl might not be such a bad acquisition after all. The Canadiens would have to part with a lot of assets to acquire Draisaitl, but adding Ivan Demidov and Micheal Hage to that core would make Draisaitl the missing piece to turn this team into a contender.

The Canadiens will be a good team when Demidov comes to North America. All of their players that are already with the organization will have another year under their belt and Demidov will add the missing element to their offense. Can you imagine if the Canadiens found a way to add Leon Draisaitl to this roster?

The Canadiens have plenty of defensive depth in their organization, while the Oilers need help at the back end. If the Oilers and Draisaitl do not extend their contracts, Edmonton would be wise to explore trade options for him. That would only make things worse for the Oilers in the meantime, and Draisaitl’s value may be at an all-time low after his performance in the last two rounds of the playoffs, but they can’t let him go either for nothing at the end of the 2024-25 season.

The Canadiens should add one of their best young defensemen to start this trade program. David Reinbacher would be the logical choice here, as he still holds considerable value after being drafted fifth overall last season. In my opinion, Reinbacher may not be as valuable as people think, so getting Draisaitl in a trade for him would be ideal.

The Canadiens also have two first-round picks next season. They would need to add at least one, which they can afford after their two successful picks in the 2024 edition. The Canadiens could also add another first-round pick in 2026 or 2027 and hope that Draisaitl makes one good enough team with all the talent around it to make this choice irrelevant.

Acquiring Draisaitl is an ambitious and expensive goal. However, if a player of Draisaitl’s caliber were available, the Canadian would be doing himself a disservice if he didn’t take a chance. The Canadiens’ fan rating was not very good after this season. An offseason where they draft Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage and then acquire Leon Draisaitl could turn the franchise around. Losing Reinbacher would only dent the depth of the defense, and adding all that offensive talent would make fans forget about Reinbacher anyway.

If the Canadiens, or any other team, are interested in Draisaitl, they will have to opt for a trade. It wouldn’t be wise to let things play out this way and hope that Draisaitl goes to his unrestricted free agent position in 2025, as the Oilers would likely find a way to rehire him.