HabsWorld.net -- 

After making five trades involving draft picks on Day Two of the draft, the Habs weren’t done making moves as they dealt the rights to goalie prospect Hayden Hawkey to Edmonton for the Oilers’ fifth-round pick in 2019.

Hawkey was Montreal’s sixth-round pick (177th overall) back in 2014.  He struggled in his post-draft season and then saw sparing action in his first year at Providence College but improved considerably when he was made the starter for his sophomore year.  After putting up a 2.19 GAA and a .913 SV% in his first year as a number one, the 23-year-old bettered that output in 2017-18, posting a 2.04 GAA and a .919 SV% in 40 games.

Hawkey ranked 17th in our preseason prospect rankings and coming off the year he had, he likely would have come in around that slot in next year’s edition.

It’s worth noting that Hawkey is a year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency and he has already indicated that he will remain in college next season.  Perhaps the Canadiens are concerned that he will opt to test the open market.  If not, it’s a bit of an underwhelming return for someone who has slowly developed into an intriguing prospect that should at least be serviceable at the minor league level for a few years.

With all of Montreal’s trade activity today, they now have eight selections for the 2019 draft. They have their own picks in the first four rounds plus the sixth as well as an extra fourth rounder (Calgary) and two acquired fifths (Chicago and Edmonton).

Hawkey’s Stats