The 2024 NHL Draft weekend is within the books, and it was a busy few days in Sin Metropolis. Not solely have been the longer term stars of the NHL drafted, however groups have been wheeling and dealing behind the scenes.

Just a few golf equipment have to be ok with how the weekend went, particularly the Montreal Canadiens. They received some of the highly-coveted gamers on the prime of the primary spherical, and their already sturdy prospect pool appears to be like even higher because of this. Along with the Canadiens, the Utah Hockey Membership appears to be like much more formidable than it did on Friday morning.

On the opposite facet of the coin, not everybody was fairly so fortunate. Zeev Buium, one of many prime prospects within the draft, needed to wait a little bit longer than anticipated earlier than listening to his title. The Tampa Bay Lightning additionally continued their curious offseason with one other questionable commerce.

Let’s take a deeper take a look at the largest winners and losers from the 2024 NHL Draft weekend.

This was a simple one. The Sharks have been all the time going to be a winner the second they gained the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery. With the No. 1 total decide, San Jose chosen Boston College star Macklin Celebrini. Simply 18 years outdated, Celebrini simply tallied 32 objectives and 32 assists in 38 video games with the Terriers. Whether or not Celebrini will make his NHL debut subsequent season continues to be to be decided, however he offers Sharks common supervisor Mike Grier a cornerstone piece for the rebuild. Now San Jose has a robust prospect pool with a possible famous person on the prime.

Loser: Zeev Buium

Within the lead-up to the 2024 NHL Draft, quite a few mock drafts projected Buium going within the prime 10 picks, generally as excessive as No. 5 total. As a substitute, Buium inexplicably fell to the Minnesota Wild at No. 12 total. Maybe some groups have been fearful about Buium’s dimension. At 6 ft and 186 kilos, Buium was a little bit smaller than a few of his fellow defensemen on this draft class. The excellent news for Buium is that, not like in different sports activities, the College of Denver defenseman did not lose cash with every passing draft slot. Apart from, going to the Wild could also be a great state of affairs for him. Buium simply winds up within the loser class as a result of he was some of the notable fallers of the primary spherical, and his satisfaction might need been a little bit bruised.

Winner: Minnesota Wild

That brings us to the Wild, who received possibly the largest steal of the primary spherical after Buium fell to them outdoors the highest 10. Minnesota already has Brock Faber, the 2024 Calder Trophy runner-up on its blue line, and including now the staff might need its prime pairing for a really very long time. Buium has already proven loads of famous person potential on the school degree. Final season, Buium posted 11 objectives and 39 assists in 42 video games whereas main Denver to a nationwide championship. Buium could not have been thrilled along with his tumble, however the Wild certain have been.

Loser: Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lighting did not land within the loser class because of their draft picks. They simply made a curious commerce over the weekend, and it left me scratching my head a little bit bit. Tampa despatched 26-year-old defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Membership in alternate for J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, a second-round decide and a fourth-round decide. I perceive the reasoning behind why the Bolts made this deal. They wanted to unencumber wage cap house to signal both Jake Guentzel or Steven Stamkos, and Sergachev carries an $8.5 million cap hit. Nonetheless, was delivery Sergachev the neatest approach to unencumber house?

Sergachev continues to be comparatively younger and has confirmed he generally is a No. 1 defenseman. In the meantime, Tampa already reacquired 35-year-old Ryan McDonagh and his $6.75 million cap hit earlier this summer time. Tampa has now been eradicated within the first spherical of the playoffs in two straight seasons, and the staff is just getting older with these offers.

Winner: Utah Hockey Membership

The staff on the opposite finish of the Sergachev commerce, the Utah Hockey Membership, has considerably improved its blue line over the previous few days. Not solely did Utah land Sergachev at a really affordable value, nevertheless it additionally added John Marino (and a fourth-round decide) from the New Jersey Devils in alternate for 2 second-round picks. Utah did a wonderful job of making the most of groups that wanted to maneuver out cash as a way to make massive free company splashes. The cherry on prime of the weekend was when Utah signed defenseman Sean Durzi to a four-year contract at $24 million. Utah ought to be a stingy staff within the 2024-25 season.

Loser: NHL schedule

The previous week has been a whirlwind for the NHL, particularly for the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. The Stanley Cup Last did not finish till final Monday, then groups went to Las Vegas for the draft. Then groups had only a few days to arrange without spending a dime company, which begins Monday. There isn’t any respiratory room, and never simply because it was over 100 levels in Las Vegas final weekend. The NHL crammed a number of of its largest tentpole occasions into the span of per week, and now there shall be a pair months of silence earlier than the subsequent season begins. Transferring ahead, the NHL in all probability desires to contemplate a schedule that creates extra room between the Last, the draft and free company in order that anticipation can construct for followers.

Winner: Montreal Canadiens

It isn’t a lot of a secret that a number of golf equipment had their eye on winger Ivan Demidov, however the Canadiens held their floor and have been in a position to scoop him up at No. 5 total. Demidov is a extremely expert Russian winger, and a few consultants thought he may go as excessive as No. 2 total. To finish their spectacular first spherical, the Habs additionally chosen Michael Hage with the No. 21 total choice. Hage, a middle for the USHL’s Chicago Metal, simply put up 33 objectives and 75 factors final season. Montreal’s already spectacular pipeline simply received even deeper and extra expert.