Kirill Marchenko<\/a> is one of the names Stu Cowan associates with Kent Hughes’ plan.<\/p>\nThe journalist doubled down on The Sick Podcast, and according to him, the Montreal Canadiens have identified multiple players who can help the team immediately.<\/p>\n
Kent Hughes is focusing his efforts on trying to acquire one or two of those players.<\/p>\n
Three very different profiles, but an obvious logic behind these targets.<\/p>\n
Because Kent Hughes’ objective is very specific.<\/p>\n
He wants a bigger team, a right-shot defenseman, and a forward capable of playing in the top six.<\/p>\n
He talks about it at the very beginning of the following clip:<\/p>\n
Kirill Marchenko is the star player we’ve been dreaming about for the past few weeks.<\/p>\n
At 25 years old, he scored 27 goals and recorded 67 points in 76 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.<\/p>\n
His $3.85 million contract.<\/p>\n
Kent Hughes targets size, defense, and top-six help for the Canadiens<\/p>\n
Matthew Knies checks the size box.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old power winger produced 66 points in 79 games with the Maple Leafs, including 23 goals.<\/p>\n
He earns $7.75 million per season and appears to be an excellent power forward.<\/p>\n
Ristolainen addresses the need on defense.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old Finn checks the box as the big right-shot defenseman Hughes has been looking for for quite some time, according to Cowan.<\/p>\n
He collected 14 points in 44 games last season, along with a solid +10 rating.<\/p>\n
At $5.1 million, his cap hit remains reasonable for a veteran blueliner.<\/p>\n
Three targets, three different price ranges, one common goal: make the Canadiens tougher.<\/p>\n
Now the real work begins. Knies, Ristolainen, Marchenko: which one is Hughes willing to pay a premium for, and more importantly, what is he willing to give up in return?<\/p>\n
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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