Canadiens’ Kent Hughes & His Stellar Drafts: Going for a 3-Peat

The Montrealers weren’t done with the boos though, completely out of left field, Gary Bettman took to the stage to announce two trades involving the Canadiens. Hughes had sent young promising defenceman Alexander Romanov and the 98^th overall pick to the New York Islanders to acquire their first-round pick. The crowd was stunned, Romanov’s charisma had already won over so many fans, but the GM knew how many promising young defencemen he had; Romanov was collateral damage to improve the Canadiens’ center line. Then Bettman added the Canadiens were sending the Islanders’ first-round pick they had just obtained to the Chicago Blackhawks with the 66^th overall selection for center Kirby Dach. Suddenly, the smiles returned in the stands.

The Blackhawks had let it be known earlier in the day that Dach was available, but no one suspected Hughes would go for 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 the highest bidder, and Hughes pounced on the opportunity.

In that draft, Hughes also picked Filip Mesar in the first round and Lane Hutson in the second round. Hutson was an excellent prospect, but his small height had made him fall on the prospects list. Smelling the offensive upside his scouts had told him about, Hughes threw caution to the wind and picked Hutson, which was an inspired pick, to say the least.

Hughes’ Second Draft

Fast forward to the eve of the 2023 Draft and Hughes struck again, at a time no one expected. He sent two picks (the 31^st overall and the 37^th overall) along with Gianni Fairbrother to the Colorado Avalanche in return for Alex Newhook. If the last few years have told us something, it’s that you can never have too many centers. Much like the Dach trade, Hughes was betting on Newhook being better than what he had shown with the Avalanche. Once again, the Canadiens’ GM had surprised everyone, which should have been a warning for what was coming the next day.

The 2023 Draft was very rich in offensive talent, one of the Canadiens’ weaknesses, and fans were already drooling at the thought of drafting Ryan Leonard, Will Smith, or, for some, Matvei Michkov. When it was the Canadiens’ turn to walk up to the stage, Smith had already been claimed by the San Jose Sharks. Still, there were some good offensive options still up for grabs. When Carey Price, a former fifth overall pick himself, announced to the crowd that the Canadiens were proud to select David…(the goaltender’s mind went blank, he couldn’t remember the pick’s last name), Hughes rescued him and confirmed David Reinbacher was the Canadiens’ first-round pick. On social media, there was an instant backlash, fans were gobsmacked, they wanted a top-six forward and they got yet another defenceman. I had never seen so many critics about an 18-year-old kid whom most people had not seen in action.

Hughes pushed critiques aside by saying Reinbacher was the best player available when it was the Habs’ turn to select. We did not see much of Reinbacher last season as he spent the year in Europe playing with HC Kloten in Switzerland. However, he was assigned to the Laval Rocket in the dying days of its season, and nobody complained about the small sample of games we saw in 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 have the fifth overall pick right now, he could be talked into trading the pick if the return is interesting enough. It’s widely known in the NHL that he’s looking to improve his team’s attack and other GMs should have no problem finding someone to dangle in front of his eyes. If the return isn’t to his liking, the pick won’t move, but there might still be a deal to be done with the Canadiens’ second pick in the first round, the one they acquired trading Sean Monahan to the Jets last February.

Who could potentially be his target? There has been some chatter about Trevor Zegras, but I’m not entirely sure Hughes would be interested in that project. There is no doubt Zegras oozes talent and skills, but would he fit in with the culture the Canadiens are trying to establish?

I’ve also heard the name Martin Necas be mentioned, the man can play either as a center or a winger, and even though he’s played games in the NHL for the last seven seasons, he’s still only 25. This would have to be a sign-and-trade deal though as he’ll be a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer. Currently, he’s getting $3 million per season, perhaps this could be an interesting option.

More of a gamble, but there’s also Kirill Marchenko in Columbus. He’s 23, picked up 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 Columbus Blue Jackets’ second line and in both seasons, he scored 20-plus goals.

Finally, Dawson Mercer with the New Jersey Devils could also be an option. He’s played three full NHL seasons now finishing with 42, 56, and 33 points. The Devils might be open to entertaining the idea. I could go on and on with other ideas, but knowing the Canadiens GM, he’ll get someone none of us mere mortals had even thought about.