BUFFALO – The Canadiens might have been picking in the No. 9 spot on Friday night, but they certainly made their presence felt a lot earlier than that.
For the past few weeks, Habs fans were wondering what Marc Bergevin would do during Round 1. Would he move up? Would he make a trade? Or, would he just opt to keep things exactly the way they were? His moves in the opening round involved a couple of those elements, as Bergevin was active from the start.
Just minutes after the Toronto Maple Leafs made Auston Matthews the first- overall pick, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took to the microphone to announce a pair of trades, both of which involved the Canadiens.