Jack Todd: Hiring St.Louis is on Habs GM's list of top five moves

Content of the article

When Sean Monahan packed his bags and headed to Winnipeg a week ago, the praise for GM Kent Hughes was unanimous.
(Almost unanimous. This is Montreal. There would be complaints if Hughes traded Monahan to Edmonton for Connor McDavid.)

But for those of us who try to walk the rational side of the street, Hughes pulled off a masterful coup by getting two first-round picks for one player in 18 months.

Content of the article

Content of the article

Four nights later, when top draft pick Juraj Slafkowski had his first two-goal game of his career, it got me thinking: In a little more than two years, Hughes has pulled off as many spectacular moves as Marc Bergevin. more than nine years on the job.

Bergevin, to be fair, has had his moments – rather late in his career as a GM. Bergevin has acquired a young core of veterans at the heart of this team through trades, drafts and waivers: captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kayden Goulet, Samuel Montembo. With Bergevin, every good move seems to be matched by a mistake.

With an almost flawless record so far, Hughes has barely put a foot wrong, but what are his best moves? In a typical nod to Jeff Gorton's role in the decision-making process, here are Kent Hughes' top five moves:

February 9, 2022: Martin St. Louis was hired as interim head coach to replace Dominique Ducharme. With the St. Louis hire just three weeks into his tenure, Hughes will be absolutely fearless.

It was also typical of the NHL for Hughes that led Bergevin to hire former Canadiens coaches not once, but twice. Instead, Hughes hired a former superstar with no experience behind the bench in professional hockey — and it worked out great.

Content of the article

Content of the article

Not only was St. Louis a great communicator and teacher, but he was also an innovator, guiding the Canadians to a common brand of hockey that represented a clear break from the past.

On June 1, 2022, Hughes was named the permanent head coach of St. Louis. Hughes decided no further.

July 16, 2022: The Canadiens traded defenseman Jeff Petry (who wanted out of town) and Ryan Poehling to Pittsburgh for Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick.

This is perhaps the first indication that Hughes takes his work seriously. Hughes had known Matheson since he was a kid and was his agent, but Hughes still took the extra step of calling another former client, Penguins guard Kris Letang, to understand Matheson's abilities before committing to a trade.

Since then, smooth skating has become a minute goal on the Matheson Canadiens blue line.

July 7, 2022: It's straight out of Headache Central — “What Did He Do?” But it was definitely great.

First, Hughes traded defenseman Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick in the 2022 draft to the Isles for the 13th pick, then acquired former Blackhawks third overall pick Kirby Dutch with the 66th overall pick.

Content of the article

Dach's career was hampered by a broken wrist in an exhibition game ahead of the 2021 World Juniors, but he was a strong blue-liner. If he can stay healthy, his future impact will be huge.

July 7, 2022: That same day, Hughes acquired Dach, who shook up the draft at the Bell Center by acquiring Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkowski with the No. 1 overall pick.

Again, the Canadians swam against the tide. A common choice would be Shane Wright. Getting outside the box is what killed Hughes and the Canadiens for the immature Wright — but Slafkowski's week-to-week improvement this season has him leading the entire draft class with 89 games played, 13 goals and 32 points.

Wright, who was drafted fourth overall today, is 43rd in the AHL with 32 points and 12th with 18 goals.

There are others from the 2022 draft, such as Logan Cooley, Cutter Gauthier (who blew up with the Flyers without ever playing in the NHL) and Conor Gickey. We'll take Slafkowski, thank you very much.

August 18, 2022 and February 2, 2024: If we can roll two moves into one, Hughes first acquired Monahan and a conditional first-round pick in 2025 for future consideration, allowing the Flames to shed Monahan's $6.375 million cap hit. In the second round, Monahan was dealt to the Jets for this year's first rounder and a conditional 2027 third rounder.

So, three picks, two of them in the first round, for a productive and versatile forward whose career was in jeopardy when he arrived in Montreal. And the Canadiens didn't save salary, leaving a cap space ahead of the March 8 trade deadline.

With luck and a few more moves, we'll make this a Kent Hughes Top 10 team next time.

[email protected]

Twitter: @jacktodd46

Content of the article

Content of the article