Sean Monahan deal: Jets GM praises work of Kent Hughes

The Winnipeg Jets are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League this season, and rightly so, considering they have a very good offense, and one of, if not the best goaltender in the entire league, in Connor Hellebuyck.

At the trade deadline, the Jets were obviously buyers.

And when you analyze the approach they used to improve their team, you realize they played their cards very well.

Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Jets’ general manager, improved his club in two stages, which proved to be very beneficial.

The first was the Sean Monahan deal with the Montreal Canadiens.

For this transaction, Cheveldayoff asserts that he had identified the need for a center, and that by observing the transaction market, he had to be decisive and quick, and that’s what he did.

The Jets GM then tried several different ways to obtain Sean Monahan, but there was nothing he could do, as Kent Hughes simply wouldn’t budge from his price.

In fact, Kevin Cheveldayoff praised the work of Kent Hughes, saying that he had kept his end of the bargain.

How the NHL trade deadline was won – inside 4 teams’ approaches. My latest for@TheAthletic https://t.co/eMz5Ee63pl

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 10, 2024

Indeed, in Pierre LeBrun’s latest article, we read what the Jets’ GM had to say, and he’s clear: Kent Hughes was convinced about the price for Sean Monahan, and despite several attempts to change the price, there was nothing he could do.

“Hats off and respect to Kent Hughes. He stuck to his guns. We tried several approaches to make the deal work, but he had a fixed price. We had a need, so we decided to act.” – Kevin Cheveldayoff

This is real evidence, straight from the conversation between two general managers, that Kent Hughes is adamant about the prices he sets for his players.

If he doesn’t get what he wants, he won’t hesitate to hang up and look elsewhere.

And if not, sometimes the best deal is the one you don’t make.

This really paid off in the case of the Sean Monahan deal, given that in the end, Cheveldayoff gave in and paid the full price of a first-round pick for the forward’s services.

And when you look at all the trades completed in recent weeks, you realize that Kent Hughes really did get a good return for Monahan.

In short, hats off to Kent Hughes, who pulled off two excellent trades to help his team’s future.

En Rafale

– Finally, the end of this ménage à trois.

– Read more.

– What a goal from Lorenzo Insigne last night. Wow.

– Let’s see how he performs in Toronto.

– To be continued.