If you want the Philadelphia Flyers to draft the No. 1 center of their future with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, you've already been warned not to get your hopes up.

Wisely, some might say, the Flyers are keeping their options open ahead of the draft later this month. After all, it was only a year ago that the decision to trade down and pass on Zeev Buium to select Jett Luchanko tore through the fanbase like wildfire.

When the Flyers did so, they chose need over value. This was publicly communicated beforehand, as GM Danny Briere suggested they would take a center if a center and a defenseman were tied in rank on their draft boards.

Now, the Flyers are indicating the opposite with four weeks to go before the draft.

“We obviously are aware," Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said of the talent issue at center, as quoted by Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. "But there’s also a couple other players that it’s going to make it hard. There’s a couple wingers, and even a defenseman, that could be in the mix. You’ve got to be careful not to go by a top line player potentially, just for position. That’s the challenge we’ll face."

Flahr and the Flyers have been earmarked to draft a center with their top draft pick for months now, with top options comprised of the likes of James Hagens, Michael Misa, Anton Frondell, Caleb Desnoyers, Jake O'Brien, Roger McQueen, and Brady Martin.

The fact that Flahr is already willing to look past a glaring need at the position suggests there are multiple centers on that list who are quite low on their draft boards relative to the consensus.

Flyers Trade Rumors: Wild 'Not Dying' to Deal Marco Rossi AwayRecent reports have connected the Philadelphia Flyers to trade discussions with the Minnesota Wild regarding free agent center Marco Rossi, but there is no serious progress made by the Flyers, or any other NHL team, on that front... yet.

McQueen, for example, has struggled with back issues, and teams will be eager to test him out at the NHL combine and get a better feel for his health going forward now that he's been cleared for testing.

On the flanks and on the back end, the Flyers could very well still find some studs. A "couple wingers" likely refers to Swede Victor Eklund, the younger brother of William Eklund, and Canadian Porter Martone, who has drawn some stylistic comparisons to Matvei Michkov.

The mention of a defenseman could just be Flahr being coy about Matthew Schaefer, who is generally considered to be the premier player in this class but could be available if the Flyers trade up with the San Jose Sharks to acquire the No. 2 pick, as some rumors have previously suggested.

Some mock drafts, including one from NHL.com, have connected Barrie Colts defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson to the Flyers at No. 6, but more realistic options at that draft slot include the smooth-skating, 6-foot-3 Jackson Smith or the towering, two-way giant in the 6-foot-6 Radim Mrtka.

After losing three recently drafted defense prospects, including two from the 2023 draft, the Flyers are badly hurting for some young defensemen in their system, even after selecting Spencer Gill and Austin Moline in 2024.

Is that reason enough to potentially pass on the No. 1 center of your future? For the Flyers, it's at least on the table after last year's controversy.

The New Jersey Devils were expected to go much further in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but, like the Montreal Canadiens, they fell at the first hurdle, being eliminated in five games by the Carolina Hurricanes.

While not having their top center, Jack Hughes, can go some way towards explaining what happened there, the organization refused to use that excuse. After his team’s elimination, GM Tom Fitzgerald was clear:

"We've got a lot of decisions to make on certain players, whether we bring guys back, trade players (but) we won't be coming back with the same group (in 2025-26) […] I can tell you that because it wasn't good enough."

Now the question is, which players are they likely to move? With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier down the middle, the Devils have two real top-six centers, meaning that former first-round pick and 18th overall selection at the 2020 draft, Dawson Mercer, is used as their third-line center.

Canadiens: Potential First Round Pick - Malcolm Spence
Canadiens Farm Team On The Brink Of Elimination
Canadiens: The Grades Are In – Emil Heineman

The 23-year-old Newfoundlander stands at 6 feet and 180 pounds, making him taller than another possible option we discussed this past weekend (Marco Rossi is only 5 feet 9 inches and 182 pounds), but not significantly bigger. Mercer caught the eye of Habs fans when he played his junior hockey in the QMJHL with the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Chicoutimi Sageneens.

Since he graduated to the NHL, Mercer hasn’t missed a single game because of injuries, playing 82 games in each of his four seasons. In his rookie year, he scored 42 points, and then increased to 56 points in his sophomore season. However, his production dipped to just 33 points the following season, and he could only muster 36 this year, even though he spent an average of 17:53 on the ice.

With Hughes’ injury, he’s been moved back to center, but looking at his line combinations over the last two seasons, he’s been playing mainly on the wing, which isn’t surprising given his low numbers in the faceoff department. In his four NHL seasons, he’s only won 39.3% of his faceoffs.

Fitzgerald signed him to a three-year contract with a $4M cap hit last Summer, clearly wanting to see more from him before committing long term and putting him on a reasonable cap hit with no clause hindering possible trades.

Mercer’s numbers are not as enticing as Rossi’s, for example, but he has the kind of profile Hughes has dealt for in the past. If you look at Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook’s numbers before the Canadiens acquired them, Mercer is better. When he was hired, the Canadiens’ GM explained that he wouldn’t be a “buy high” kind of guy, and the two aforementioned trades were living proof of that. The question is, though, is the rebuild still in that phase? The one in which you get an asset and hope to help them reach their potential? Or have the Canadiens moved on to the results phase, where they’ll bring their prospects along but won’t go out to get projects elsewhere?

The Canadiens made the playoffs this season, but Hughes and Jeff Gorton were quick to say that it doesn’t change anything in the grand scheme of things, and it won’t speed up the rebuild. If the GM is looking for a player who has already established himself as a second-line center, Mercer is not his man. However, if he’s still looking for “projects,” he might just be…

Photo Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images

Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.  

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Mark Giordano has been busy since last playing in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 41-year-old, who's yet to announce his retirement from the league, joined TSN for their trade deadline coverage in March. Beyond that, Giordano still appears as a guest on TSN 1050 from time to time.

The Norris Trophy-winning defender, though, will also be working as a defense coach with projected first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Matthew Schaefer. Speaking with NHL.com senior writer Mike Morreale, the 17-year-old says he'll be skating with Giordano throughout the summer.

"I'm working out with (trainer) Bryan Marshall, and my defense coach is Mark Giordano, so I'm super excited to work with him," Schaefer said. "I'm going to be skating with him a lot."

Shaefer, who played just 17 games with the OHL's Erie Otters this season after having surgery on a broken clavicle with Canada at the World Juniors, will train with Giordano and likely New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech, among others, in Mississauga, Ontario, this summer.

The Toronto, Ontario, native was acquired by his hometown team in March 2022 in hopes of a deep playoff run. However, the Maple Leafs fell 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning that year.

Following that season, Giordano and Toronto agreed to a two-year contract, which paid him $800,000 annually. In his first full year as a Maple Leaf, Giordano played 78 games and scored four goals and 20 assists, his most productive since the 2021 season with the Calgary Flames.

Exploring Buyouts? Why That Would Be A Major Misstep For The Maple Leafs This SummerThe Toronto Maple Leafs could look quite different next season. From star forward Mitch Marner testing free agency to a wealth of vacant spots up front to fill either via trade or free agency, General Manager Brad Treliving has the opportunity to put an additional stamp on the team he took over in 2023. But what he should try to avoid, if possible, is using buyouts.

During that season, he also broke the NHL blocked shots record, which was previously held by Kris Russel (2,044). San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic passed Giordano, who has 2,164 blocks, on March 4.

The veteran defenseman also appeared in all of Toronto's playoff games in 2023, making it to the second round for the first time since 2004. The Maple Leafs eliminated the Lightning in six games before going out to the Florida Panthers in five.

Giordano last appeared in an NHL game with the Maple Leafs on April 17, 2024. For most of that season, the veteran defenseman found himself on the outside looking in, especially when Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin joined the club ahead of the playoffs.

He also dealt with an injury and the loss of his father, Paul, in the back-half of that season.

Maple Leafs Prospect Easton Cowan Dominates Memorial Cup, Validates Return To Junior DecisionToronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan is a Memorial Cup champion with the OHL's London Knights.

Giordano wasn't re-signed by Toronto following the 2023-24 season and held out hope that an NHL club would sign him later in the year. The defenseman finished his tenure in Toronto with nine goals and 36 assists in 144 games.

Before arriving in the Maple Leafs organization, Giordano spent one season with the Seattle Kraken. He was plucked out of the expansion draft by Seattle after the Calgary Flames, with whom Giordano spent 15 years of his career, left him unprotected.

An undrafted defenseman, Giordano joined the Flames organization in the summer of 2005. Along with winning the Norris Trophy, Giordano was Calgary's captain for eight seasons, from 2013 to 2021. His Flames tenure ended with 143 goals and 366 assists for 509 points in 949 games.

Report: Maple Leafs And Golden Knights Discussed Trade Around Mitch Marner, Shea Theodore Last SummerToronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner reportedly could've been a Vegas Golden Knight last summer.

Although he's yet to call it a career, Giordano has 577 points (158 goals, 419 assists) in 1,148 games split between the Flames, Kraken, and Maple Leafs over 18 years.

Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.