GM Hughes and Engels Discuss Habs Cap Situation and More

One thing that Hughes mentioned on the topic is that the players really enjoy being together and that the majority of the team are now at the point where they stop caring as much about their individual careers and want to improve their game and skills as a team. This was something that Hughes noticed when he was a player agent, and now he’s seeing it as a GM with the Habs. 

He mentioned that to be successful as a young team, the younger guys need to get in that team mindset earlier than the veterans typically did earlier in their careers to truly get things to click. This is what happened when the team turned over a new leaf after the holiday break, after a slower start than they had originally expected. 

Hughes touched on how the players started holding themselves accountable and how that, too, made a difference. The accountability started with head coach Martin St. Louis, who pushed it as part of the team’s culture. 

Another big part of the team’s success, according to Hughes, was Nick Suzuki, who carried the team on his back to get them to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final run. Suzuki had the 4th-most points in the entire NHL during the last quarter of the season. His impact has been felt throughout the whole organization.

The impact of the Canadiens captain goes beyond the Montreal Canadiens front office, as Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper told Eric Engels that he was impressed with how much Suzuki has grown since he got into the league. He also enjoyed getting to know Suzuki as a person during the Olympic Orientation Camp in Calgary. The fact that Suzuki is making a good impression on the coach for Team Canada’s Olympic team is a great sign for his spot on the team come February.

Back to Hughes, he went out of his way to praise Suzuki’s leap forward as a leader since being named captain. Hughes mentioned that Suzuki just seems more comfortable as time goes on being the captain, which is normal. What he does best is that he’s doing everything he can to reinforce that every player needs to work as hard as they can to be ready for the season. Suzuki best does that by putting in work himself and leads the team by example every night on the ice.

If there is one player that Hughes knows doesn’t need to take from Suzuki’s example to work harder, it’s Ivan Demidov. Hughes told Engels that Demidov is a hard worker but also stubborn, since, like Lane Hutson, you can’t get him off the ice. He does see Demidov becoming a “very, very good hockey player” in the future, but he doesn’t expect Demidov from Day 1 in October. He understands Demidov will still have a little bit of a learning curve. 

Like fans alike, it sounds like Kent Hughes is excited for the season to start and will continue to do what he can to make the team the best that he possibly can.

 You can click here to read the rest of the conversation between Engels and Hughes.