"I've had conversations with other teams to check on whether certain players might be available," Bergevin said in a story published Thursday. "I was asked if my [first-round] pick might be available and I answered yes, though I won't trade that pick just to trade it. It has to be for a player who would help us right away. And then there's the contract. Trading the 16th pick for a player that has one year left on his contract before becoming a free agent, that's not the smartest thing to do either.
"But my pick is even more available [than usual], yes."
The Canadiens have not traded a first-round pick since Bergevin was named GM on May 2, 2012.
The draft will be held virtually, with the first round scheduled for Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 on Wednesday (11:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN).
The Canadiens were 31-31-9 (.500 points percentage) this season. They were seeded 12th in the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers but defeated the No. 5 seed Pittsburgh Penguins in four games before losing in six games to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Since being eliminated, the Canadiens have dealt third -, fifth- and seventh-round picks in separate trades to acquire backup goalie Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues and defenseman Joel Edmundson from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Montreal has made 15 picks in the first three rounds during the past three NHL drafts, including center Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old scored four goals in 10 games this postseason and has scored 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 115 games the past two seasons.
