Slow and Steady Wins the Race for Kent Hughes

Overall, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes is pleased with the progression he sees in his team’s five-on-five play. It’s not perfect, but he feels this is natural with such a young team. Hughes understandably had to speak about the injuries again, as they hindered him in his team evaluation.

Losing Kirby Dach for the season was a big disappointment as it means his progression cannot be evaluated this season; the same goes for Newhook, who’s missing two and a half months, just as he was starting to show some chemistry with Suzuki.

In net, considering the discussions he had in the offseason, he was confident Cayden Primeau would have been claimed on waivers had they tried to send him to Laval. Thus, he decided to start the season with three goaltenders on the roster. It wasn’t his plan for the trio to be with the team all year long, but it’s still a possible outcome.

Kent Hughes is nothing if not patient. The GM clearly has a price in mind for Jake Allen, and he will not move him until the price is met. While it can be an admirable quality to be able to stick to your guns and not get frazzled, he might have to reevaluate said price. The current “ménage à trois” is far from ideal, and I dare say it’s probably slowing Primeau’s development as he’s not getting enough ice time.

Even if the Canadiens have tiny odds of making the playoffs, Hughes refused to say if his team would be a seller trade deadline. In his opinion, it is too early to say. He also refused to confirm that he had an understanding with Sean Monahan to trade him come hell or high water. He reiterated that he’d evaluate the situation to see if it made sense to trade him. It remains a possibility that he could even offer him another contract. Anything is possible.

Hughes doesn’t feel any pressure to trade players earlier than last year because injuries can happen. Hughes will wait for a market as the buyers will come and reach out to him for what they want. Hughes clearly plans to keep his cards close to his chest and will only move if it really makes sense for the team.

Hughes qualified Jayden Struble as a positive surprise. He’s much more advanced in his development than expected, but it doesn’t mean he’s in a rush to evaluate all his other young defensemen and decide who should go. After all, Hughes already traded Alex Romanov to acquire Kirby Dach, and he’s shown what he can do.

He was sincere and realistic when he admitted he doesn’t think his current pool of young defenders could directly get him the help he needs upfront. A trade like the one we saw with the Flyers and Ducks involving Jamie Drysdale and Cutter Gauthier could turn some of those assets into draft picks. This would eventually allow him to get the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Around the NHL: Edmonton Oilers Patience Paying Huge Dividends

Just like with his goaltenders, Hughes is ready to wait for the right opportunity, even if it means some players will have to spend time in the AHL. Hughes is not in a rush to trade from his stacked defender cupboard, but it could still happen at any time.

Of course, Cole Caufield’s diminished production was also discussed. The general managed admitted Caufield needs to score more and rightfully pointed out that the issue seemed to be with his shooting percentage. Amongst players with 12 goals (he had 12 when Kent Hughes spoke to the press) in the NHL, the sniper was 110th in shooting percentage. Whether it’s down to luck, confidence, or technique, it’s something the coaches need to work on with him.

As always in the last few years, the Canadiens have got plenty of draft picks, and in an ideal work, they won’t use them all. They currently have 11 picks in 2024 and another eleven in 2025, including two first-round picks. Those are the kind of assets which could help Hughes get some firepower up front.

Listening to Kent Hughes talk about his team, one thing appears particularly obvious: he is still sticking to the plan of building a real contender, and he will take the necessary time to do so. The GM doesn’t believe in shortcuts and knows anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Where does that leave the Habs? Well, for now, they’ll stay out of the playoffs picture and even if Hughes refuses to say so, he will be a seller trade deadline day. Don’t expect to welcome a big offensive star to Montreal soon, though. Hughes is playing the long game and is not about to show his hand.