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Drafting is far from an exact science and hindsight is always 20/20, but if you had a time machine and you could go back in time and change just one pick the Canadiens made over the years, which one would it be? Personally, I’d set the time machine to June 26, 2009 and go to the second to last time the draft was held in Montreal. On that day, Montreal had the 18th pick and they used it to select Louis Leblanc. The Pointe-Claire native just had a great season in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers and with the draft being held at the Bell Centre, it was the perfect scenario to select the Quebecer and it was definitely a crowd pleaser.
It wasn’t really a reach as Leblanc was ranked 13th best north American skater at the time, but it all went spectacularly wrong. He developed all over the place, playing for Harvard in the NCAA before switching to the QJMHL and eventually landing in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Then, GM Pierre Gauthier tried to get a PR win by fast tracking him to the NHL where he played 42 games and obtained 10 points. By then, the pressure on the kid was just incredibly intense and he failed to meet the lofty expectations both the fans and the team had for him. He spent another year in the AHL before playing another eight games with the Canadiens in 2013-2014 and was completely held of the scoresheet. Those were his last games in the NHL.
Ironically, at the same time Leblanc’s career crashed and burned, the player who was selected just after him during the draft was starting to blossom with the New York Rangers. By May 2014, he would dramatically alter the Canadiens’ destiny by crashing into Carey Price during game one of the conference final between the two teams. By now, you know I’m talking about Chris Kreider and the famous play in which he injured Carey Price’s knee. The Rangers went on to win the series in six games and ended the Canadiens’ Cup run.
Wouldn’t you like to know what could have happened if back in 2009, the Canadiens selected Chris Kreider instead of Louis Leblanc? With the big forward on their side, that collision with Price never would have happened and they might have made it to the Cup final. Would they have managed to beat the Kings in the Cup final? Perhaps they could have, Carey Price was playing ridiculous hockey at that stage and the following season, he went on to post the best season of his career.
Plus, if they had picked Kreider, they would have had a big power forward, something they craved for for years before acquiring Josh Anderson from the Blue Jackets back in the 2020 offseason. So there you have it, if I could change one pick, that’s the one I’d change and maybe the Canadiens would have one more Cup to their name and nobody would be arguing that Price’s number doesn’t deserve to be put in the rafters because he was never able to capture the ultimate prize. What about you, if you could change one pick, which one would it be?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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