2026 Free Agents: Kent Hughes Will Have to Find Another Way to Improve His Team

Kent Hughes was unable to strengthen his team at the March 6 trade deadline ahead of the playoffs. We know he tried and even came close to acquiring a top-tier mystery player, but to no avail.
The identity of this player remains unknown, despite numerous rumors, but what we do know is that this matter will be revisited this summer, as Kent Hughes explained during his press conference last Friday.
And let's just say the Montreal Canadiens' general manager is wise to already be planning to revisit this deal, because if it isn't through a trade, it will be difficult for Hughes to improve the team. Why? Because the free-agent market is likely to be very thin this summer.

NEW for @TheAthletic: the Nick Schmaltz signing is another hit for a thin UFA market. Will it get further diluted by more contract extensions? The latest on Tuch, Carlson, Andersson and more https://t.co/XEfIoGQOpY via @NYTimes
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 12, 2026

Indeed, as Pierre LeBrun explains in his recent article, the free-agent market has taken several hits this season, the most recent being Nick Schmaltz's long-term signing with the Utah Mammoth.
Normally, there are still some very interesting names among the free agents on July 1, but this year, with all the contract extensions already signed and others that could follow, it's already a very thin market.
Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay's breakout defenseman of the year, and Alex Tuch, a high-caliber power forward in Buffalo, are two excellent options, but they may have already re-signed with their teams by then.

And aside from those two, there really isn't anything very interesting that could allow Kent Hughes to significantly improve his team in the short, medium, or long term. There are good players, but they're mostly on the decline and getting pretty old, which really doesn't fit into the Canadiens' plan.
In short, Kent Hughes would be much better off finding partners to trade with, because the free-agent market will be very thin.
Let's hope the mystery player is a game-changer who ends up in Montreal this summer.

In Brief– The Habs are scoring goals by the bucketful.

The Canadiens are averaging an NHL-best 4.36 goals per game since January 29#GoHabsGo
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 14, 2026
– Kirby Dach's 300th NHL game tonight.

(づ｡◕‿◕｡)づ 300 games#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/POC7L6mu9B
— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) March 14, 2026
— One to watch.

Boston University's season is now over! Several players from the team will sign their entry-level NHL contracts in the coming days, including Cole Hutson and Sacha Boisvert.
The silver lining of the early elimination: They'll be able to gain more NHL experience… https://t.co/WoDiCWKoYK — Marc-Olivier Beaudoin (@MOBeaudoin1) March 14, 2026