{"id":779721,"date":"2026-07-04T11:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T11:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/779721\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T11:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T11:56:10","slug":"canadiens-hit-a-home-run-on-defense-as-sharks-moves-make-kent-hughes-look-like-a-genius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/779721\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens hit a home run on defense as Sharks’ moves make Kent Hughes look like a genius"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Montreal <\/p>\n

Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The NHL free agent market has been very active this week.<\/p>\n

And without even trying, the San Jose Sharks highlighted the work Kent Hughes has done.<\/p>\n

The California-based team was one of the most active clubs.<\/p>\n

They added four new faces all at once.<\/p>\n

The price paid for these two “average” defensemen.<\/p>\n

Jacob Trouba carries a contract worth $8.125 million per year, while Darnell Nurse earns $9.25 million annually.<\/p>\n

Combined, they make $17.5 million per year!<\/p>\n

That’s where the contrast becomes striking.<\/p>\n

An intriguing comparison with Montreal’s defensive duo.<\/p>\n

“The Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson duo will carry a combined cap hit of $18.35 million and provide elite hockey for the Canadiens over the next eight seasons.”<\/p>\n

Let’s just say that comparison doesn’t make the Sharks look very good. And it makes Kent Hughes look extremely good!<\/p>\n

Nearly the same amount of money, but two completely different realities.<\/p>\n

On one side, two aging veterans in decline. On the other, two young defensemen still on the rise.<\/p>\n

On one side, two very average defensemen. On the other, two elite defensemen.<\/p>\n

The numbers speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

Hutson is coming off a 78-point season with a +36 rating at just 22 years old.<\/p>\n

Dobson, meanwhile, recorded 47 points in 80 games despite not having a clear role on the power play. A complete 26-year-old defenseman who is still in the prime of his career.<\/p>\n

What a home run by Kent Hughes!<\/p>\n

That financial flexibility could pay huge dividends later. It will give the Canadiens the cap space to add a major salary at the right time.<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images The NHL free agent market has been very active this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":779722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,39630,8467,10097,448,1530,764,82],"class_list":["post-779721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-jacob-trouba","tag-kent-hughes","tag-lane-hutson","tag-nhl","tag-noah-dobson","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}