The Montreal Canadiens are on the rise, and Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes' decisions made that happen. 

Gorton was promoted to president of hockey operations on Tuesday while he and GM Hughes agreed to five-year contract extensions.

Gorton has been with the Canadiens since November 2021, while Hughes joined in January 2022. So in essence, this duo has been inseparable since the get-go, and that’s why they share in credit for the improvement of the organization. 

When you look at how the Habs’ lineup has improved, there are a few moments and developments that stand out.

The Canadiens hit a home run early in the era of Gorton and Hughes when they hired Martin St-Louis as coach. The former Tampa Bay Lightning right winger has been a smashing success, steering Montreal to its best finish in five seasons in 2024-25. You don’t often see superstar players morph into successful forces behind the bench, so to see St-Louis thrive as Habs coach is an impressive thing.

Montreal management's trade success is another benefit. Under Gorton and Hughes, the Canadiens brought in veterans who’ve become integral components of the organization. The Habs’ acquisition of defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders stood out as one of the best trades of the off-season, while moves for wingers Zachary Bolduc and Patrik Laine have given the Canadiens terrific depth on the wing.

That said, no praise of the Habs would be complete without noting the success they've had in their draft and development departments.

The Canadiens picked up a keeper in right winger Ivan Demidov, who is projected to be a cream-of-the-crop dynamo after the Habs drafted him fifth overall in 2024. Selecting defenseman Lane Hutson 62nd overall in 2022 became a steal as they developed him into a potential perennial all-star asset for Montreal.

Hughes and Gorton’s winning streak continued when they re-signed Hutson to a team-friendly contract extension paying him an average of $8.85 million per season for the next eight years. That will give Montreal great value under the cap starting next season.

Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign GM Kent Hughes And President Jeff Gorton The Montreal Canadiens announced five-year contract extensions for GM Kent Hughes and the newly promoted president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton.

The GM and hockey ops president have built a strong, deep team while maintaining considerable salary cap space to fill in holes and potentially make a long playoff run. Their $5.7 million in cap space can grow to $25.2 million in space by the NHL’s trade deadline, according to PuckPedia. That kind of flexibility could make Montreal *the* team to look out for at the deadline.

All things considered, Hughes and Gorton have made far more positive moves than negative ones. As a result, the Canadiens are set on being a playoff team for the second straight season – and this time around, going on a deep playoff run once they get there. It may not be wise to bet against them.

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