Canadiens hire Kent Hughes as new general manager
At 7-25-5 (19 points), the Montreal Canadiens are buried at the bottom of the NHL standings and appear likely to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three years. Still, the organization made a big announcement on Tuesday morning that they hope will help the franchise undergo a quick turnaround.
The 51-year-old Hughes has signed a five-year contract with the team. The Montreal native has worked as a partner and certified agent with the Quebec-based firm, Quartexx Management, representing NHL stars such as Patrice Bergeron, Kristopher Letang, Anthony Beauvillier and Darnell Nurse.
"We are very excited to add Kent Hughes to our organization. Kent is highly-respected in the hockey world, having built an excellent reputation as an NHL player agent for over 25 years now," CEO, co-owner and president of the Canadiens Geoff Molson said, per NHL.com.
"The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates. Kent stood out, and we believe he is the right person to be the general manager of the Canadiens. We also believe that Kent's experience as an agent will be a great asset to the organization," executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton added.
Hughes played collegiate hockey at Middlebury College from 1988 to 1992 and was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame in 2020. He is expected to address the media alongside Molson and Gorton on Wednesday.
Hughes replaces Marc Bergevin, who served as the Canadiens' general manager from May 2012 until his firing on Nov. 28, 2021.
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