Excerpt from Globesports.com (Tim Wharnsby):
MONTREAL CANADIENS
First choice: Danny Kristo, 56th overall, right wing, 5 feet 11 inches, 172 pounds, U.S. under-18 team (USDP). Kristo, of Eden Prairie, Minn., was the 37th-ranked North American skater. This is the third year in a row Canadiens scoutmeister Trevor Timmins selected a U.S.-born and developed player with his first choice. Kristo’s father, Mark, played collegiate hockey for Bemidji State University and won the 1973 NAIA national title. His minor-hockey coach was Monty Trottier, the younger brother of Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier.
Other moves: The Canadiens added a skilled top-six forward by dealing their first-round selection (25th overall) to the Calgary flames for Alex Tanguay. The native of Sainte-Justine, Que., peaked with the Colorado Avalanche in the first year after the lockout with 29 goals, but then his numbers dipped with the Flames the past two years with 22-goal and 18-goal seasons. Tanguay, 28, will be given more opportunity to use his skill in Montreal.
Rating their performance: Montreal general manager Bob Gainey has an undisclosed trade in place with Toronto if he can sign Mats Sundin by July 1. That was a no-brainer. The Canadiens’ depth on the farm and their abundance of youth on the big club permitted Gainey to give up the Habs’ first-round pick. Remember, the Canadiens are only 13 months removed from their top minor-league affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, winning the AHL’s Calder Cup championship.