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“As we’ve mentioned all alongside, we gained’t do one thing that can present a short-term acquire on the expense of our long-term plan,” he says.
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Kent Hughes is preserving his give attention to the massive image.
Since taking on as GM of the Canadiens two years in the past, Hughes and Jeff Gorton — the chief vice-president of hockey operations — have set a purpose of constructing a staff that may compete for the Stanley Cup for a number of years in a row.
That’s why Hughes wasn’t keen to present a long-term contract to a veteran participant like Jonathan Marchessault when the NHL free-agent market opened Monday.
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Marchessault instructed TVA Sports activities that he had good talks with Hughes and was curious about becoming a member of the Canadiens. Nonetheless, Hughes wasn’t keen to match the five-year, US$27.5-million contract the 33-year-old ended up signing with the Nashville Predators after posting 42-27-69 totals in 82 video games final season with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Hughes would have been keen to go above the $5.5-million annual wage, however wasn’t keen to present Marchessault 5 years.
“If we have been keen to match the size of contract that a few of these gamers have been getting, we might have had gamers right here,” Hughes mentioned when he met with the media Monday afternoon on the CN Sports activities Advanced in Brossard. “However, on the finish of the day, we’re sitting right here attempting to mission into the long run.
“As we’ve mentioned all alongside, we gained’t do one thing that can present a short-term acquire on the expense of our long-term plan,” Hughes added. “And if we commit too lengthy into the long run to a participant and we find yourself blocking younger gamers from transferring their means up, then I believe we’re doing a disservice to what we’re attempting to perform. So we went into it figuring out the percentages have been lengthy, hoping that we might prevail, persuade folks that this was an thrilling place to play with, I assume, inferior monetary phrases. However I’m not fearful about that once we get to the purpose that we really feel prefer it’s time to actually do one thing in free company and we’re keen to compete by way of the phrases of the contract.”
Street to the Cup
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Holding his give attention to the massive image, Hughes was keen to present Juraj Slafkovsky an eight-year, US$60.8-million contract extension on Monday that can take the 20-year-old by means of the 2032-33 season. Hughes additionally has Slafkovsky’s linemates Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield below contract by means of 2029-30 and 2030-31, respectively.
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Hughes mentioned he would have preferred so as to add a top-six ahead on a short-term contract Monday, however stays centered on his long-term purpose. He’s keen to stay affected person, which is an effective factor.
“We didn’t go into as we speak pondering we needed to accomplish issues,” Hughes mentioned. “We needed to. I believe what occurs in free company — and it’s pure — if you happen to go in overly dedicated to popping out with one thing, then typically you come out with one thing that you just look again on and need you didn’t. So we needed to enter the day with self-discipline and say: If we are able to do that below these parameters we’ll do it and, in any other case, we’re fantastic to proceed to attend and see if one thing materializes both by way of free company later or by way of a commerce.”
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Hughes has amassed loads of commerce capital with an overabundance of younger defencemen and draft picks. The Canadiens maintain two first-round picks, two second-round picks, three third-round picks and two fourth-round picks at subsequent yr’s draft.
“We weren’t going into this offseason saying: Wow, we might get a participant right here and win the Stanley Cup,” Hughes mentioned. “We went into the offseason pondering if we might do one thing to present the group a greater probability … once more, we wish to construct a staff that may compete constantly for a Stanley Cup and never present up one yr after which we’re again out of the playoffs a yr after. However If we are able to do this for the group, I believe that they’ve labored arduous and so they deserve that. But it surely was at all times with the situation that we simply can’t do it on the expense of signing a five-, six-, seven-year deal the place we all know we’re consuming it on two or three years. There’s groups which can be in a special section, a special cycle, that they’re signing gamers assuming that the again finish of the contract gained’t be nice, but it surely’s giving them a chance to compete of their window.”
The Canadiens aren’t in that window but, however Hughes is working arduous to get them there.
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“We take a look at the roster that we’ve got,” the GM mentioned. “We take a look at the important thing younger gamers that we’ve got after which we take into consideration how we encompass them by way of management, by way of ability and skill and provides them an opportunity to win and have that success and make the playoffs and do these sorts of issues.
“A very powerful factor for us proper now’s to verify we’ve created a extremely good setting for these younger participant to develop,” Hughes added.
This GM isn’t going to lose his focus.
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