The Presidents' Trophy curse lives on another season as the Colorado Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals. Now, the St. Louis Blues got a direct benefit from it, as their draft order has changed.
The Blues got the Avs first-round pick via the Justin Faulk trade to Detroit, as confusing as that sounds, and now they have a better pick than expected. Let's talk about it.
Not the 31st pick, like many believed
With the Ottawa Senators getting into a bit of trouble with the Evgenii Dadonov trade in 2022, they will have the usual Stanley Cup winner pick at No. 32 of the first round of the NHL Draft. Many believed that the Avalanche would have the 31st pick, which is going to be reserved for the Stanley Cup champs this go-around, and that would be the Blues' final pick of the first round selections.
They already hold the 11th and 15th picks, and now, they have a better shot at bringing in a third franchise-changing prospect to make this wave of new talent even better. Or, they can now use that last pick, Colorado's pick, as some trade bait.
Now No. 11, 15, and 29
With the Avs being swept before the finale of the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens, they still were slotted to be the 29th pick in the first round. That gives the Blues picks at No. 11, 15, and 29 on June 28.
The loser of the Eastern Conference finals will be placed at 28th, due to the Avalanche winning the regular season title for best record.
That is a very good opportunity for General Manager Doug Armstrong and the next man up, Alexander Steen, to really hammer home the youth movement. Those first two picks were already set up to bring in some surplus on the defensive side, and most likely the center position, but now they can be a little more free with the 29th pick.
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