{"id":132260,"date":"2025-09-04T12:56:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/132260\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:56:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:56:08","slug":"how-can-canadiens-keep-momentum-after-surprise-playoffs-run-catching-up-with-kent-hughes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/132260\/","title":{"rendered":"How can Canadiens keep momentum after surprise playoffs run? Catching up with Kent Hughes"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 The Montreal Canadiens were one of the NHL\u2019s feel-good stories last season: a surprise jump into the playoff dance, a rebuilding plan paying early dividends and invigorating an incredibly passionate market.<\/p>\n

All the more reason that expectations need to be tempered this season. The construct is showing all the signs of heading in the right direction long-term. But that\u2019s no guarantee another big step looms this year. The NHL doesn\u2019t always work that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably more than anything, it is the tempering (of expectations),\u201d Habs GM Kent Hughes told The Athletic this week at the NHL general managers and head coaches meeting. \u201cIt\u2019s great that the fan base is excited about it. As a general manager, you worry that the players don\u2019t get too far ahead of themselves. It\u2019s a little bit harder when people see you coming than when we sneak up on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pushed hard in exit interviews, and the message all the way through (to players) has been, \u2018It\u2019s going to be a lot harder to do the same, and if you want to do more individually and then how do you take care of the group? What are you doing besides taking care of your own game?’\u201d<\/p>\n

So there\u2019s a little insight into what Habs management is trying to instill in the players ahead of the 2026-27 season. The next step is harder.<\/p>\n

There were certainly lessons learned in that first-round playoff loss to the more seasoned and top-seeded Washington Capitals. It provided valuable experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it did,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cSome of it individually. Like you know, for somebody like (Juraj Slafkovsky), watching someone like Tom Wilson impose himself on the game physically. Alex Ovechkin imposed himself on the series physically. Just learning from a veteran team \u2014 the calmness. But I think there was also some optimism born from the series, too, because even though we lost in five games, we didn\u2019t feel we were outclassed at any point.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy and large, it felt like the group in the exit meetings didn\u2019t feel like they lucked in and got embarrassed. We\u2019re ready to take another step.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

General manager Kent Hughes believes the Canadiens are \u201cready to take another step.\u201d (Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It was another aggressive offseason, including a blockbuster for top-four blueliner Noah Dobson and an important add up front in Zack Bolduc, and yet at the same time, the team got even younger with the retirement of David Savard and the losses of free agents Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak. That puts more emphasis on the young core, now needing to trust the experience it has gained in the past few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost a couple of important guys that were important to our team in Dvorak and Armia and Savard,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cWe probably got a little more talented, adding Dobson and Bolduc to the group. But we need our young core that\u2019s been here to continue to take strides.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pressure the core felt in playing playoff-type hockey over the second half of the season and achieving a playoff berth makes the Canadiens \u201cmore hardened\u201d coming into the season, Hughes said.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a perfect summer. It rarely is for any team. The top priority heading into the offseason was finding a No. 2 center \u2014 the same goal several teams had around the NHL. That No. 2 didn\u2019t magically materialize. So the Canadiens pivoted with the Dobson and Bolduc deals. It\u2019s all about getting better in different areas despite not addressing the No. 1 void.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was more to accomplish,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cI mean, if we were trying to build a Stanley Cup-winning team for the start of the 2025-26 season, it would have required more than just a second-line center. So I think we\u2019re continuing to try to build something which will give the Montreal fan base a team that can compete for a long time and compete to win Stanley Cups.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we think we\u2019ve arrived at the end goal? No. Where there have been opportunities to improve our team in an intelligent way, we\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in the interim, Hughes said, they\u2019re not ruling out Kirby Dach or Alex Newhook for the No. 2 center job. They\u2019re comfortable giving both another stab at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know those guys have more potential, and I believe where there\u2019s an opportunity, those guys would relish that and do everything they can to try to seize it,\u201d Hughes said.<\/p>\n

Of course, he has to say that. But I\u2019m sure the reality internally is that they know that\u2019s still an area that eventually needs fixing. The same can be said for many teams.<\/p>\n

The Habs traded away a quality prospect in young defender Logan Mailloux for Bolduc, and they know they have to be careful about how many young players they use in trades that way. But it also cements, not that it was ever in doubt, how the organization feels about young right-handed blueliner David Reinbacher and his eventual place in that top four. Some teams, no doubt, would have broached Reinbacher\u2019s name with the Canadiens in the offseason, but that was a no-go for Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight-shot Ds don\u2019t fall off trees. That\u2019s why the cost of acquiring Noah Dobson was fairly significant,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cIt allowed us to make that move. There\u2019s only so many guys that can play in your top four. We\u2019re hopeful that David gets a full season under his belt. Whether that\u2019s starting in (AHL) Laval or starting in Montreal will be up to him. But we took him fifth overall because we really believed in what he has to offer and we look forward to him being a big part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of top-four D, Lane Hutson had a rookie season to remember with a Calder Trophy win and is now in a position to cash in with his next contract. The Canadiens under Hughes have made it a practice not to comment on contract negotiations. But the question I asked the Habs GM was more conceptual, touching on what Habs top executive Jeff Gorton told Arpon Basu<\/a> earlier in the summer about cap percentage in a rising cap world and how that might influence a contract for an important young star like Hutson.<\/p>\n

Agents around the league are all emphasizing what percentage of the cap a salary is in negotiations right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that we\u2019re more inwardly focused than outwardly focused in terms of what we do,\u201d Hughes responded. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s a novel concept. I think there\u2019s other teams in the National Hockey League that look at it that way. I get it that you can\u2019t turn a blind eye to everything, but I would say that if we\u2019re successful building the type of organization that we\u2019re trying to build in Montreal, then people are going to want to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is to say \u2014 I think, anyway \u2014 that the Canadiens are trying to build a contract culture that allows them to flex their ability to piece together as many core elements as possible under the cap. Where Hutson ends up in that puzzle remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Canadiens earlier this week paid Carey Price\u2019s last signing bonus as that contract enters its final year, leaving only $2 million on it in real cash for the rest of the season. So, finally, it\u2019s a contract that\u2019s easier to move if the Canadiens feel they need to create cap space from his $10.5 million cap hit (and don\u2019t want to be limited in other moves<\/a> by putting him on long-term injured reserve). In fact, with insurance covering a portion of that $2 million salary, there\u2019s really a minimal fee left on it.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s the cost to move that final year of Price\u2019s deal? My sense is the Habs aren\u2019t desperate enough where they\u2019d spend a first- or even a second-round pick. With the rising cap \u2014 and rising cap floor \u2014 there are teams that may actually need Price\u2019s contract in the event they move bodies out ahead of the trade deadline. So there could be a mutual benefit in a Price trade at some point.<\/p>\n

\u201cPotentially, potentially,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cI think if we can find ways to create cap flexibility in an intelligent way, then we will. But it\u2019s not an at-all-costs scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n

And finally, Patrik Laine is on an expiring contract. There were some people who wondered if Laine might be moved this summer. It didn\u2019t happen. The Habs are looking forward to welcoming back a refreshed version of the Finnish winger.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s excited. He\u2019s been in Montreal all summer,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cI think he skated twice before he came to Montreal last year. And then turned around and hurt his knee. He\u2019s been in Montreal, on the ice and in the gym \u2014 he\u2019s been probably more focused on how he can be the best version of himself to help the team win. So I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what he\u2019s got.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 The Montreal Canadiens were one of the NHL\u2019s feel-good stories last season: a surprise jump into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1787,385,99],"class_list":["post-132260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}