Habs no longer had first rights to players from the Quebec junior leagues so they had to get creative
Sam Pollock traded for the California Golden Seal's 1st round pick, but then the Seals started winning a few games and were no longer in the basement.
So the Habs traded Ralph Backstrom to the LA Kings (who were in the battle or last overall) to make THEM a better team.
They passed the Seals and voila. #1 pick LaFleur to the Habs.