Kent Hughes: Long-Term Vision, Short-Term Failure

In life, there are facts. What is factual…

And then there are emotions.

Often, we have to strike a balance between the two. Because someone who is too emotional or too rational overlooks 50% of reality.

So let's try to stick to the facts—while adding a touch of partisan emotion—and take a look at the Montreal Canadiens' “new” lineup.

Factually speaking, the Canadiens aren't a better team than they were two months ago. In fact, their lineup is the same: the players who left weren't seeing much ice time, and no one has been brought in to bolster the roster. Oliver Kapanen, Jake Evans, Alex Newhook, and Phillip Danault will once again—as a group—have to fill the role of second-line center; Jayden Struble is likely to play alongside Lane Hutson (who will be on the right wing) once again; and Arber Xhekaj is expected to shuttle between the bench and the third defensive pairing yet again. Alexander Zharovsky and Michael Hage won't be joining the team in September.

Those are the facts. There's no arguing with them.

Now let's move into the realm of emotions, optimism, pessimism, hope, and other non-factual matters.

We can be optimistic that Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, and Jacob Fowler will improve since they're young and have gained experience…

But I don't know if Lane Hutson (78 points), Juraj Slafkovsky (73 points), Ivan Demidov (if he isn't better supported), Oliver Kapanen (22 goals), Kaiden Guhle (will he stay healthy?), Jakub Dobes (he'll have to prove he's not just a flash in the pan), and Jacob Fowler (will he play in Montreal or Laval?) will truly have a better season next year.

Since an NHL forward generally reaches his prime between the ages of 24 and 25, it's also reasonable to think that Nick Suzuki (101 points) and Cole Caufield (51 goals) have just had their best seasons yet. Or one of their top two or three…

Nick Suzuki will turn 27 next month. It's possible he'll continue his excellent play, but expecting him to improve significantly is more emotional than rational.

Furthermore, the Canadiens were spared from injuries in 2025–26. Among the team's key players, only Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle were sidelined for more than 15 games. No, I don't consider Kirby Dach a key player, by the way…

We can hope the Canadiens remain just as fortunate when it comes to health, but to think that Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson, Slafkovsky, Demidov, Dobson, and Matheson will all play 80 or more games is more a matter of emotional hope than cold, hard logic.

I hope we can all agree on one thing: right now, we can't say the Canadiens have improved over the offseason.

And they hadn't improved by the last trade deadline either.

Yet the team has made progress, the players clearly want reinforcements, and management seems ready to overpay to improve the team. They offered golden bridges to the Maple Leafs for Matthews Knies in March, and then to the Blue Jackets for Kirill Marchenko just a few days ago.

Fans who say that Kent Hughes is patient and doesn't want to overpay—using that as an excuse for the current inaction—are forgetting—whether intentionally or not—those two offers.

Is this a big deal?

Should fans be freaking out because their team hasn't been improved (neither at the trade deadline nor so far this summer)?

No! First, because the summer isn't over yet…

But also because we need to distinguish between two different goals.

If the goal is to be better next season, there is indeed cause for concern. The team still doesn't have a second-line center, Lane Hutson will continue to play with the team's sixth or seventh defenseman (and not on his own side), and the lineup is still sorely lacking in physicality.

Given that, it's clear to me that the Canadiens' front office still aims to make the Habs a contender in two or three years—not next year.

It's clear that they wanted to avoid bad contracts that might help the team in the short term but would hold them back in the medium to long term.

Fair enough!

It's as if the Canadiens were a worker who's putting a lot of money aside for their retirement. They're still in savings mode, even though they're making more money than before and have the opportunity to enjoy it. That's responsible—even smart.

The big question: Has the saver we're talking about here reached retirement age? Has he reached the point in his life where he needs to start drawing down his savings?

The Canadiens have just had an impressive run: out of the playoffs, eliminated in the first round, then eliminated in the conference finals. Will this conference final—which came a bit too soon, given that the team isn't yet fully assembled—turn out to be something of a poisoned chalice?

With the salary cap having risen—and set to continue rising significantly—there was room to spend a little money and/or trade
some assets
. Time will tell if Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton's patience was justified.

What am I expecting?

I'm among those who see the Habs taking a slight step back in 2026–27. I think the team will still manage to make the playoffs, but only by the skin of their teeth.

It'll be interesting to see if Kent Hughes decides to bolster his roster next March. If the answer is no, I'm pretty sure the Canadiens will have a shorter spring. The Panthers (improved, rested, and healthy) and the Hurricanes will be fierce in the East in 2026–27.

In short, I expect a step back.

And it'll be a tough pill to swallow for many fans and the Quebec media.

Except that the journey to the top is never a straight line. There are always ups, then downs, then more ups, and so on.

And these setbacks often serve to tweak a few small details in our original plan.

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton must not squander their captain's bonus.

Nor should they try to win every trade or sign all their players at a discount. Sometimes, their priority must be to improve the team, no matter how they do it. After all, a GM's goal is to help his team win on the ice, not to come out on top in every trade he makes.

The inaction of the past few months may be seen as a success in the medium or long term, but in the short term, it's a failure. Because, to repeat myself, the Canadiens aren't any better than they were a few months ago. And a salesperson only gets a commission if they manage to close a deal, according to David Ettedgui.

It's up to Kent Hughes to strike a balance between being aggressive and conservative. If you sacrifice the present to better secure the future, you have to know when to start thinking about the present. I was just talking about savings and the moment when it's time to dip into those savings at the beginning of this piece…