Canadiens Director of Scouting Makes a Major Statement: The Team's Plan at the Draft Has Been Revealed

At this point, with the trade of Sean Monahan bringing in a first-round pick, attention is now turning more towards the draft than the playoffs.

Again this year, the Canadiens' management has a very busy summer ahead to solve several problems within the organization, notably the serious lack of top offensive talent.

The draft is likely to be a good way to partially address this lack of young players with the potential to become a leading attacker, thanks to the Canadiens' pick which should be in the top ten of the next draft, with a very real possibility of even seeing this selection near the top-5.

The Canadiens are well aware of this opportunity to add an offensive gem, and the co-director of the organization's scouting, Martin Lapointe, has just revealed his hand on a future major acquisition of the club.

In relation to the upcoming draft, he stated that there were five players who could be classified as elite talents in this draft class. He brought up an obvious first name by mentioning how special Macklin Celebrini is, leaving four other prospects with the level of potential sought after.

Lapointe also mentioned that the rise of several defensemen in draft rankings could play into the Canadiens' favor, allowing a few forwards to slip into the first round. This is a very interesting detail that confirms the direction would aim, barring a surprise, for a forward with its own choice.

The former NHL player also confirmed that the amateur scouting team had a mid-season meeting recently, which helped to slowly clarify the picture for the upcoming June draft.

There is a list of players targeted by the Montreal organization currently, and the club's scouts will focus their efforts for the rest of the season to consolidate their final list for next June.