Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes spoke to the media this afternoon to evaluate how his team has done halfway through the season, and here's our breakdown of what he had to say.
Before Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes spoke to the media on Tuesday, the team held a practice at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. While there was nothing special about the practice itself, it still marked the return of blueliner Kaiden Guhle with the group. The soon-to-be 24-year-old underwent surgery in November to repair a partially torn adductor muscle and has been limited to just five games this season, picking up a goal and an assist.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, though. Judging by the pairings used at practice, he’s unlikely to play against the Calgary Flames. He was skating alongside Adam Engstrom, who was a healthy scratch for the last game. At the same time, Mike Matheson remained with Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson with Alexandre Carrier and Arber Xhekaj with Jayden Struble. During his media availability, Hughes also confirmed that the team intends to be very careful with players currently recovering from injury, including Kirby Dach and Guhle. He acknowledged that if the team were presently in the playoffs, they might bring them back sooner, but as things stand, they will take a cautious approach.
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Unsurprisingly, the goaltending situation was discussed right off the bat, and Hughes explained that while we shouldn’t expect a decision to come in the next 24 hours, given how busy the schedule is, the three-goalie system is far from ideal and won’t be there long-term. Asked if Montembeault was still the team’s number one, the GM explained that he doesn’t like to put a label on his players and that, in short, the best goalie would play the most. He did add that they were never worried that Montembeault had forgotten how to tend the goal.
Speaking about Jacob Fowler and, more specifically, his youth, the GM acknowledged that while they initially thought he would spend most of the season in the AHL, since he’s been up, he hasn’t looked like such a young keeper. The GM has clearly been impressed by his mental strength, his ability to move past mistakes when needed, and his ability to respond when asked about them. He recalled Fowler answering a question in these terms:
I’ve played goalie all my life; it’s not a mistake I’ve made often, and I don’t think I’ll do it again. You can see there’s mental strength there, and that will help him in the future.- Hughes on Fowler's mental strength
When Hughes was asked about Dach, he explained his lengthy absence by the fact that the foot injury he suffered is on the same leg as the knee injury he had recovered from, which makes the team want to be extra cautious.
Overall, the man in charge has been impressed with how his team defends in the neutral zone, noting that there has been significant emphasis on it this season. He also said that the most impressive characteristics of his team vary from week to week. Overall, he appreciates the maturity his team has shown in reading the game and reacting appropriately at the right moment. When concentration slips and a mistake is made, he prefers that players identify their own mistake. He cited Juraj Slafkovsky’s backhand pass in front of the net against the Dallas Stars as an example. As soon as the winger made the play, he said, you could see on his face that he knew it was the wrong move.
He’s also been impressed by the resilience and the confidence his young team is showing:
We’ve got a group of guys playing for each other; we see it every day, and it’s exciting. In a world where team professional sport, there’s always a risk of individualism coming in because someone else’s success may cost you ice time, and ability to earn over your career, so it is a delicate balance I find in pro team sport.- Hughes on the team culture
The young Canadiens have shown little concern about earning so far in their careers. Cole Caufield, Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, and Mike Matheson have all signed team-friendly deals so far, underscoring that the goal is winning, not just earning.
Speaking about youth, Hughes said that he absolutely believes that rookie Oliver Kapanen can be a good second-line center in the NHL, not just because of what he does with the puck, but also because of how he handles himself without it. As for Michael Hage, the GM didn’t want to talk too much about the next step for him, saying he needed to concentrate on the rest of his season with the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA. However, from the way he was talking, it’s easy to understand that the Habs believe he will be ready to take the next step at the end of the season, but it’s a decision he doesn’t want to make before it’s the right time to make it, which is once the NCAA season is over.
Regarding Lane Hutson, the executive explained that although he watched him play a lot as he was growing up, he didn’t expect him to be so good, so fast. He later added that when the Habs drafted him, he didn’t think he would be as good as he has proven to be, and he gave his scouting staff credit for that selection. He refused to discuss the Team USA roster. All he said was that he’s happy Hutson and Cole Caufield are on his own team and that he didn’t put himself in the shoes of the Team USA GM.
Regarding Slafkovsky, the GM has been impressed by the speed of his game. While the game might have slowed down for the big Slovak mentally, the way he moves and executes is just so much faster; he even added that it feels like something finally clicked for the youngster and that he’s able to do the right thing consistently now. Unsurprisingly, he said that he’s very pleased with his progress.
When asked whether he would be looking to add new assets this season, he explained that many factors would need to be considered. Who’s available, at what cost and how big a time commitment would be made to an older player who would be brought in? Clearly, the GM believes in the talent that he’s drafted and is not about to load up on older player to stop their progression.
As candid as always, he explained that right now, his team isn’t on par with, say, the Colorado Avalanche, but he believes that the rebuild is ahead of schedule from what he initially thought, even though there are still a lot of unknowns. He’s confident that the talented players who are coming up will play a big part for his team, but he doesn’t know exactly how good they’ll turn out to be.
Looking ahead, the press sought to get Hughes to discuss the roster challenges he would face once his team was healthy. He smiled and said he would welcome the challenge. It’s easy to understand where he’s coming from with how many players have been injured this season. Essentially, the front office will cross that bridge when it gets there, if it gets there, and how high-profile a player is won’t have an impact on the decisions made.
Overall, Hughes appears pleased with his team’s results, but he remains open-minded about the way forward. There is a tricky balance to strike between achieving short-term results and building long-term, consistent success. That’s something that’s always been at the forefront of his mind since he became the man in charge, and even though there’s been a lot of progression, it’s something that remains key for him.
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