It appears the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Columbus Blue Jackets - the teams with the first three selections in the NHL draft - have no intention of trading their picks.
TSN's Darren Dreger reported Sunday that the Maple Leafs, Jets and Blue Jackets are "very unlikely" to trade out of the top three, but adds the No. 4 pick - held by the Edmonton Oilers - is "definitely in play."
Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli admitted after Saturday's lottery that he was disappointed to drop from the second selection, but is confident his team will acquire a quality player in June if it holds on to the pick.
"I was preparing myself for potentially moving down," Chiarelli said, per Chris Wescott of Oilers.com. "It was disappointing, but I've been watching a lot of these players lately and we're going to get a real good player."
The Oilers are widely expected to be eyeing a defenseman at the draft and while they'd likely be able to pick the blue-liner of their choice with forwards Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi projected to go 1-2-3, trading down could bring the team an additional asset moving forward.
