TJ Hughes won’t be following Michael Hage: he’s heading to Colorado

Félix Forget
TJ Hughes won’t be following Michael Hage: he’s heading to Colorado
Credit: onhockeytv

On Thursday night, Michigan's NCAA season came to an end. The team, which was ranked No. 1 in the country, fell to Denver in the Frozen Four semifinals.

Naturally, in Montreal, this kicked off the Michael Hage Watch. Everyone was wondering when the team's top prospect would sign his entry-level contract with the NHL.

Except that, in reality, we were also keeping an eye on another name: TJ Hughes. The Hobey Baker Trophy finalist, who played alongside Hage, was a free agent and could sign with any team.

But in the end, he didn't choose to sign with the Habs: he's joining the Colorado Avalanche.

So he won't be following Hage to Montreal.

Remember that yesterday, all the Wolverines players in the NCAA attended the Hobey Baker ceremony to support Hughes, who was one of the finalists. That meant none of the guys signed yesterday.

That's why Hage didn't sign yesterday… and why Hughes didn't sign until today.

Keep in mind that Hughes, in 40 games this season, has tallied 57 points. The Wolverines captain is 24 years old and will clearly be helping the Avalanche try to win the Stanley Cup.

It's worth noting that, according to Eric Engels, the reported interest from the Canadiens was more smoke than anything else. There isn't a ton of room for him in town anyway.

In short, Hage's NCAA captain is now in the NHL and will be joining the Avalanche in the coming days.

We're now keeping an eye on Hughes' teammate, who could be heading to Montreal or Laval soon…


In a nutshell

– The Lightning won today. The Habs must therefore earn at least one point tonight to hold onto second place in the Atlantic Division.

– Interesting.

– He wasn't happy.

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