Montreal Canadiens’ Kent Hughes and His Stellar Drafts: Going for a 3-Peat – Hockey Writers –
On Tuesday (May 7), we learned that for the second year in a row, the Montreal Canadiens will be drafting fifth in the upcoming NHL Draft in Las Vegas on June 28-29. While some fans were disappointed that the Canadiens didn’t pick first, the team had a better chance of picking lower than fifth, however, and stayed in that spot, which is a win.
General manager (GM) Kent Hughes has managed the Canadiens for two drafts so far, and both have been exciting news. I believe the best strategy when trying to guess which rabbit will pull out of the hat is to expect the unexpected.
Hughes’ First Draft
In his first draft in 2021, Hughes knew his work would be closely watched by the 21,000-plus fans who would pack the Bell Center to see the Canadiens make the first selection for the first time since the 1980 Draft. . That year, they drafted Doug Wickenheiser who was really hard working. He played for this organization for four seasons before being sold to St. Louis Blues with Greg Paslaswki and Gilbert Delorme replacing Perry Turnbull. Turnbull skated with the “Sainte-Flanelle” for 40 games before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets for Lucien Deblois. Deblois went on to win the 1986 Stanley Cup with the Canadiens before signing with the New York Rangers as a free agent in September.
The bar has never been that high for Hughes, and when he took the stage to announce the Canadiens’ pick, the anticipation was palpable on the court. There were a few Canadian Shane Wright jerseys inside the Bell Centre, and those who jumped the gun were upset when the GM made Juraj Slafkovsky the first pick. The whole crowd took to him instantly as Canada to a few boos.
The Montrealers weren’t finished with the boos though, out of left field, Gary Bettman took the stage to announce two trades involving the Canadiens. Hughes had sent promising young defender Alexander Romanov along with 98th perfect pick for the New York Islanders to get their first round pick. The crowd was surprised, Romanov’s charisma has already won many fans, but GM knew how many promising new defenders; Romanov was the collateral damage to improve the Canadiens middle line. Bettman then added that the Canadiens were sending the Islanders’ first-round pick they had just acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks and 66ers.th A complete selection of the Kirby Dach center. Suddenly, the smiles returned to the houses.
The Blackhawks had announced earlier in the day that Dach was available, but no one suspected that Hughes would want him. However, his modus operandi is to buy low and sell high. The Blackhawks had decided to move on from Dach and were selling to top businessmen, and Hughes jumped at the opportunity.
In that draft, Hughes also selected Filip Mesar in the first round and Lane Hutson in the second round. Hutson was an excellent prospect, but his short stature caused him to fall off the prospect list. Smelling the offense his scouts had told him about, Hughes threw caution to the wind and selected Hutson, which was an inspired pick, to say the least.
Hughes’ Second Draft
Fast forward to the day before the 2023 draft and Hughes struck again, when no one expected. He sent two picks (31St completely and 37th overall) and Gianni Fairbrother to the Colorado Avalanche in return for Alex Newhook. If the past few years have told us anything, it’s that you can never have too many institutions. Similar to the Dach trade, Hughes was betting on Newhook being better than he had shown with the Avalanche. Once again, the Canadiens GM surprised everyone, which should have been a warning of what was to come the next day.
Related: Ranking Canadiens GM Hughes’ Best Positions Ahead of 2023 Trade Deadline
The 2023 draft was rich in offensive talent, one of the Canadiens’ weaknesses, and fans had already balked at the idea of drafting Ryan Leonard, Will Smith, or, for some, Matvei Michkov. When it was the Canadiens’ turn to go up on stage, Smith was wanted by the San Jose Sharks. Still, there were good attacking options up for grabs. When Carey Price, who had been selected as the fifth team, announced to the crowd that the Canadians were proud to select David…(the goalie’s mind disappeared, he could not remember the last name of the selector), Hughes rescued him and confirmed that David Reinbacher was the first choice of the Canadiens. On social media, there was an immediate uproar, fans were frantically looking for a striker in the six and found another defender. I’ve never seen so many critics of an 18-year-old that most people didn’t see working.
Hughes brushed aside the criticism that Reinbacher was the best player available when it came to the Habs’ chance to pick. We didn’t see much of Reinbacher last season as he spent a year in Europe playing with HC Kloten in Switzerland. However, he was assigned to the Laval Rocket in the dying days of their season, and no one complained about the small sample of games we saw from Laval.
What does Hughes have in store for the 2024 draft?
We shouldn’t be shocked if Hughes surprises us again in late June. While the Canadiens currently have the fifth overall pick, he could be talked into trading the pick if the return is interesting enough. It is well known in the NHL that he is looking to improve his team’s attack and other GMs should have no problem finding someone to hang in front of his eyes. If the return doesn’t appeal to you, the pick won’t budge, but there’s still a possibility of a deal for the Canadiens’ second first-round pick, the one they got in the trade for Sean Monahan to the Jets last February. .
Who might be his victim? There has been some discussion about Trevor Zegras, but I’m not entirely sure Hughes would be interested in that project. There is no doubt that Zegras exudes talent and skill, but can he fit the culture the Canadians are trying to create?
I have heard the name Martin Necas mentioned, this man can play as a center or defenseman, and although he has played in the NHL for the past seven seasons, he is only 25 years old. sign and trade though he will be a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer. Right now, he’s getting $3 million per season, so maybe this could be an interesting option.
More on gambling, but there is also Kirill Marchenko in Columbus. He is 23 years old, he scored 25 points in 59 games in his first season and in his second season, he played 78 games and finished with 42 points. He plays on the second line for the Columbus Blue Jackets and in both seasons, scored 20 or more goals.
Finally, Dawson Mercer with the New Jersey Devils could also be an option. He has played three full NHL seasons now finishing with 42, 56 and 33 points. The Devils may be open to entertaining the idea. I could go on and on with other ideas, but knowing the Canadiens GM, you’re going to get someone that none of us alive have ever thought of.
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