The 2023 NHL Draft is less than a week away and the rumors and speculation about possible trades have ramped up. The Washington Capitals hold the eighth overall selection in the first round and are primed to pick up a prospect that should make a real impact at the NHL level in coming years.
The Caps and general manager Brian MacLellan have held steadfast in wanting to keep his selection instead of trying to deal it for an already established player in the league. But, that reportedly doesn’t mean they won’t trade it for a different purpose.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta is reporting that the Caps are exploring ways to move up from the eighth spot.
With the NHL Draft five days away, the Capitals are exploring ways to move up from 8th overall, the Flyers are hoping to add another first-round pick, the Blues continue to dangle No25 & No29, and the Leafs are shopping the 28th pick for immediate help.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 23, 2023
The most obvious reasoning would be to draft Russian phenom Matvei Michkov, and that he may not fall to eight.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman remarked on the 32 Thoughts podcast that Michkov is now making himself available to teams at the draft just five days away from the event and that he has heard that there is one team that could be planning on taking Michkov even if they don’t get a meeting with him.
“Somebody told me there is a team there that is willing to draft Michkov sight unseen,” Friedman said. “They think there is a team or teams that will take him sight unseen. Like they’ll just say, ‘You know what? we believe in this kid’s talent, we can sort it out.'”
Friedman added that he believes that team could be the Philadelphia Flyers, who pick one selection ahead of the Capitals at seventh overall, due to how Philly GM Danny Briere and assistant GM Brent Flahr spoke about their strategy at their pre-draft press conference.
“We’re trying to get as much information, and we’ll spend a little bit of time with [Michkov], and we’ll try to get as much information as we can and make our decision after that,” Briere said.
“We do talk to players on his team. We’ve talked to coaches – so we’ve done a lot of our background, and we’ll spend time with him and his family, and get a comfort level and then make a decision appropriately,” Flahr added.
The Flyers, who have entered a full-on rebuild, have multiple selections in the first round which may make them more likely to take a risk on a prospect like Michkov. Briere also admitted that the team is exploring adding another first-round pick which would arrive through trading away one of their available veteran players like Kevin Hayes, Scott Laughton, or even Travis Konecny.
Given their rebuilding status, the Flyers could easily wait out Michkov’s KHL contract if they wanted to.
“We want the best player three, four years down the road,” Flahr said. “It’s not a rush as far as who’s going to be playing first. There’s a lot of guys that will play sooner, but who is going to become the best NHL player is our focus.”
“I’m not worried if it’s three, four, five years down the road that they become the best they can be,” Briere concurred. “It’s about the development of the player. I’m not worried about next year or the year after.”
One team that could explore moving down in the top ten is the Montreal Canadiens. There have been many discussions that the Habs have narrowed in on two prospects for their choice, forward Ryan Leonard or defenseman David Reinbacher. One or maybe even both players should still be available at eighth overall.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Friday morning that Montreal GM Kent Hughes has been involved in a lot of recent trade talk.
“Kent Hughes is having lots of differing trade conversations,” Dreger said on TSN690. “There’s the potential for the Montreal Canadiens to be a bigger player but its gotta make sense and that’s everyone from Pierre-Luc Dubois to potentially moving down from number five in the draft.”
If the Capitals want to ensure they grab Michkov, they may have to jump ahead of both the Flyers and Canadiens.
