Episode 219 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast the 2026 draft episode 06-27-2026

Hello Hockey Fan’s. Episode 219 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast, the 2026 NHL Entry Draft episode has arrived. The Topics include-   #1. More pre-draft trades.   #2. Draft Day Trades.   #3. Few NHL Clubs make the number of trades that the Las Vegas Golden Knights do.   #4. The Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Utah Mammoth and Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes were no slouch either, when it came to trades at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. They were all very active.   #5. Teams moving up and down the draft board in a way and with a frequency seen on very few occasions in the NHL.   #6. The 2026 NHL Entry Draft set a new record as to the greatest number of goalies ever selected in an NHL Entry Draft with 34, selected in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.   #7. The Montreal Canadiens made 2 minor AHL trades to enhance the AHL roster in the 2026/2027 season.   #8. Kent Hughes was actively moving around on the draft board targeting very specific players that the Montreal Canadiens wanted in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.   #9. Fortunately, the Montreal Canadiens were not involved in any of the major trades and did not mortgage their team, prospects of future away, by paying the excessively ridicules compensations that clubs were demanding for underachieving and overpaid players.    #10. The 2026 NHL Entry Draft focused on sandpaper, grit, in your face physicality for the Montreal Canadiens, which was clearly the biggest need that the Montreal Canadiens had in the regular season and was a very obvious need in the playoffs, especially against the Carolina Hurricanes.   #11. As much movement and transactions have already been completed, there are still optionally many other trades the could occur on July 1st/Canada Day as Dylan Larkin, Zach Werenski, Kirill Marchenko, Vincent Trocheck, Connor Hellebuych or is Michael Knies still available? The Montreal Canadiens should grab group 6 free Agent Ryan Suzuki on July 1st, walk away from everything else. Have a nice quiet summer, heal up and wait for the 2026/2027 training camp.   #12. The San Jose Sharks, The Toronto Maple Leaf’s, Anaheim Ducks and the Seattle Kraken had the best drafts, but the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Utah Mammoth also had really a really good draft and should not be left out either.