Kent Hughes (Le Soleil)
Montreal have finally announced who will be taking over the permanent general manager for the foreseeable future and it's a Jeff Bezos doppelganger.
All jokes aside, the news broke late Monday night that Kent Hughes was going to be announced as the next general manager for the Canadiens. He isn't a household name for most casual hockey fans, though he's been a big part of the game for two decades.
So who is Montreal's next GM? How important will he truly be now that the Habs employ Jeff Gorton as their executive VP? Does this signal the start of a rebuild? Can we expect anything drastic to change? Most importantly of all, how does this impact the rest of the league?
I'll answer all these questions and more in a Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why?, How? manner.
Let's delve into these answers to explain how Kent Hughes will be a key part of a transformative era for the Montreal Canadiens.
WHO were the other candidates?
Daniel Briere (Ryan Szporer, The Hockey Writers)
As we've known from the start, former Montreal Canadiens player Daniel Briere as well as Tampa Bay Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche were both key candidates. As the Athletic's Pierre Lebrun reported yesterday, those two were, along with Hughes, the candidates that made it to the final stage of the interview process.
From the beginning, my prediction was Mathieu Darche. He was fluent in French, one of the smartest people in the industry, somebody capable of playing second fiddle to Jeff Gorton, and a guy with winning experience. He was linked to the Habs as soon as former GM Marc Bergevin left the organization. Though Montreal seemed like a perfect fit for Darche to get his breakthrough in the NHL, I would be surprised if he didn't end up with a full-time general manager role in the near future.
A few days after the Bergevin firing, once the shock had worn off, people started to realize that Danny Briere would be another great option. Infamous for his clutch playoff performances and his rugged style as a player, Briere has put together an impressive career in management. After retiring in 2017, Briere continued to work with his final team, the Philadelphia Flyers. Once the Flyers' ownership group bought an ECHL team, the Maine Mariners, the Flyers assigned Briere to run the operations there. He's another guy who could get a GM job within the next few years.
Though legendary Habs goalie Patrick Roy was heavily linked, it never made much sense to me. He's never had a full management gig and let's not forget that his Canadiens career ended on a sour note. He allegedly did have an interview, but from what we know about Roy, as a person and as a player, he wasn't the type of candidate that Montreal was expecting.
WHAT will be Hughes' biggest strength and his biggest weakness?
Kris Letang (Dan Kingersky, PGH Hockey)
It is important to note that Kent Hughes has been a player agent for 25 years. Player agents have a distinct skill that not many in the hockey community can match and that is player relations. He's by no means one of the biggest agents in the business, but with a client list that includes Darnell Nurse, Patrice Bergeron and Kris Letang, he definitely has some sway in the league.
Montreal's activity in free agency recently has been far from inspiring. Since 2015, Alexander Radulov has been their only signing with an AAV above $5 million. In terms of total cap hit, their biggest signings have been Tyler Toffoli and an extension for Alex Galchenyuk. Players simply didn't want to play in Montreal.
Now, Hughes is going to exercise his pull in the player market to attract big ticket players to Montreal. Kris Letang resigning in Pittsburgh at the end of the year always seemed like an inevitability, but with Hughes in the mix now, there's no way Letang won't consider a hypothetical contract offer from the Canadiens.
As for his weaknesses, a lack of experience is at the top of the list. Like Patrick Roy, he's never had a management role for any team. Taking the jump from player agent to general manager is quite the leap and there will be a steep learning curve for Hughes.
Luckily for Hughes and Montreal fans, the Habs are ready for this. Executive VP Jeff Gorton still has a lot of power in the front office and he has many years of experience with the New York Rangers.
The presence of Gorton will suppress any obstacles that Hughes might be subjected to.
WHERE was Hughes born?
Ryan Hughes (Wikipedia)
Don't worry, Habs fans. You have a French-speaking GM on your hands.
Geoff Molson and the rest of the Canadiens' ownership group were insistent that their next general manager must be bilingual. At first, I thought this was outrageous and that the Habs were lowering their chances of getting a good GM. Then, I realized just how many qualified bilingual candidates existed. It makes some sense; a GM should be able to communicate with the fanbase when things aren't going well. A decent amount of Canadiens fans are solely French-speaking and this should help.
Born in Beaconsfield, a suburb in Montreal, Hughes grew up in Quebec. His brother Ryan (pictured above) was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the second round of the 1990 NHL Draft. Though Kent never played professional hockey, he did play throughout his childhood in Beaconsfield.
Though it may not sound like a Francophone name, Kent Hughes is from Montreal and fully bilingual.
WHEN can we expect some changes in the Canadiens' roster?
Ben Chiarot (Minas Panagiotakis, Getty Images)
We shouldn't expect anything drastic from the new management in terms of roster construction. Based on roster talent, the Canadiens are right near the bottom of the league when they don't have Carey Price. By trading away key members of the team, it would be a blatant example of tanking. That's not to say that they'll be quiet at the trade deadline.
For whatever reason, people legitimately think that Ben Chiarot is a good defenseman. As somebody with a good grasp of analytics as well as somebody who watches a fair few Canadiens games, he really isn't all that good. Dom Luszczyszyn's analytics model values him at -$0.2 million dollars per season. However, there are reports that he could go to a Cup contender for a second or third-round pick. If the right offer comes in, Hughes should definitely deal him.
Other players like Artturi Lehkonen and Brett Kulak could also net some assets for the future.
Why do the Habs need assets for the future? Well, a rebuild may be underway...
WHY did Hughes get the job?
Shane Wright (Tyler Battley, The Hockey Writers)
As I just mentioned, I truly think that the Montreal Canadiens are in for a rebuild. Jeff Gorton executed one of the most successful rebuilds of the 2010s with the Rangers. It's also been speculated that Kent Hughes will put more of an emphasis on the Habs' scouting network. These hints show me that a rebuild is looming.
It seemed on the horizon when Marc Bergevin left Carey Price and his mammoth contract unprotected during the Seattle expansion draft. However, it seems all the more plausible now that the Canadiens are struggling as much as they are.
With prospects like Shane Wright, Connor Bedard, Matvei Michkov, Clarke Caswell and Cole Eiserman all committed to the nest few amateur drafts, the Habs are going to want to be in on as many of those players as possible.
Currently, the #PainforShane campaign is dominating headlines in Montreal. If the Habs are to execute this rebuild as quickly as possible, they need an elite prospect to stick at the top of their lineup for the next decade.
All agents have a lot of power in the prospect community, as most emerging young players need to find an agent as quick as possible to get their best path to the NHL. I believe that if a rebuild is the direction that Montreal is ready to take, Hughes is a better option than either Mathieu Darche or Daniel Briere.
Darche would have been the best choice for a team ready to compete, due to his experience with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Briere would have been the top candidate if they wanted mediocrity for the next few years, based on his record with the Maine Mariners. Kent Hughes is the most viable option for a full-blown rebuild.
The appointment of Hughes tells me that a retool is incoming.
HOW much power will Hughes truly possess?
Jeff Gorton (Allen McInnis, Montreal Gazette)
There seems to be a widespread belief that Kent Hughes will be more of an assistant GM to Jeff Gorton than the actual general manager. Gorton was surprisingly axed at the end of last season as Rangers GM, following an impressive tenure. He caught my eye with his communication to the fans, his draft pick management and his prospect development.
After the Bergevin firing in November, Gorton was immediately hired as the executive vice president of hockey relations. To be honest, I have no idea what that means and I don't think many people do. It seems like nothing more than a title placed on Gorton, even though he will be the unofficial GM. This hire doesn't change my mind.
Hughes will obviously still be a key member of the front office. He'll consult with Gorton, will make most announcements for the team and will have a valued opinion in trade talks/free agency signings. Despite that, I do think that Jeff Gorton is technically the GM for the Montreal Canadiens and Kent Hughes will be his assistant.
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