Top 2018 Draft Picks That Have Already Been Traded

About 11 months from now, 31 NHL general managers will come together in a room with thousands of people watching and select the next group of young players destined to make it to the professional ranks. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft will be a huge event, mostly because of the elite talent that will be available at the top.

Without a clear consensus on the top pick so far, the next year will be extremely interesting to watch for prospect hounds. Andrei Svechnikov, Rasmus Dahlin, Joe Veleno, Quinn Hughes and others all have incredible talent, and could push for the top spot with a big year (and perhaps a growth spurt or two). Like this year, we could also see a relative outsider like Nico Hischier fly up the ranks to take over the top spot by draft day. One thing is for sure though, that there is plenty of talent to find in the first round and beyond at next year’s draft.

It has already been clear that teams don’t want to give up their 2018 draft picks, as we saw with the collection of selections acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights. They have multiple second-round picks in 2019 and 2020, but couldn’t secure an extra top pick in 2018. That said, there have already been many transactions that have moved picks around. Here are the teams that have acquired extra picks in the first three rounds of the 2018 draft (key player traded in parentheses).

Arizona Coyotes:

Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick from Minnesota Wild (Hanzal)

Detroit Red Wings:

Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick (OTT) from New York Rangers (Smith)

Florida Panthers:

Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick from Arizona Coyotes (Crouse)

Minnesota Wild:

Acquired 2018 3rd-round pick from Buffalo Sabres (Scandella)
Acquired 2018 3rd-round pick from Vegas Golden Knights (Tuch)

Montreal Canadiens:

Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick from Chicago Blackhawks (Weise)

New York Islanders:

Acquired 2018 1st-round pick from Calgary Flames (Hamonic)
Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick from Calgary Flames (Hamonic)

Philadelphia Flyers:

Acquired conditional 2018 1st-round from St. Louis Blues (Schenn)

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Acquired conditional 2018 2nd-round pick (WSH) from Montreal Canadiens (Drouin)

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick from San Jose Sharks (Polak)
Acquired 2018 3rd-round pick from San Jose Sharks (Reimer)

Washington Capitals:

Acquired 2018 2nd-round pick (FLA) from New Jersey Devils (Johansson)
Acquired 2018 3rd-round pick (TOR) from New Jersey Devils (Johansson)