Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes: the most important week of their reign

And in just over a week’s time, the free agent market will open. We’ll then see if the Canadiens will lose any depth players (Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak are names that come to mind) and who the club will add.

The club’s executives, like their counterparts at the other 31 NHL teams, must not be counting their hours right now.

It’s important to remember that right at the end of the 2023-2024 season, Kent Hughes was never afraid to say that the 2025 off-season was going to be very important for the future of the organization. That probably hasn’t changed – especially since the club made the playoffs in 2025.

And here we are.

When Hughes talked about the off-season, he didn’t mean June 1 or July 28. The big off-season is draft week and the opening of the free agent market.

And if I’m not repeating myself, here we are.

Since the Canadiens aren’t exactly a club that’s expected to break the bank on the free-agent market (don’t expect Mitch Marner or Aaron Ekblad in town next week, let’s say), it’s mainly the draft that the club is aiming for.

If there’s a coup, it’ll surely be this week. It’s rare for a big-name player to leave on July 15, you know.

Will the Canadiens draft twice in the first round? Once? Not at all? And if they do draft, will it be in the middle of the draft or will it be earlier?

Because the coup d’éclat that people are waiting for in the middle could be Caleb Desnoyers. I can’t say I believe it, but it’s a theory that has to be raised.

One likely scenario is to see one or more picks and one or more prospects leave the Canadiens organization in exchange for a second-line center who can be there the day the Canadiens are ready to win.

Because if the HuGo duo want to surround Ivan Demidov, this week is an excellent time to do it.

You know as well as I do that the draft is often where the big trades are made. And if the Canadiens have something big to do to transform their organization, this is probably how it’s going to happen.

We’ve never really believed in the free agent route… and with the market not even open yet, options are increasingly limited for teams looking for help at center.

So yes, in my eyes, this is the most important week of the new regime. After all, in 168 hours, we’ll have to say that the Canadiens have taken a good step forward in terms of the club’s future.

And if that’s the case, the 2025-2026 season could be a lot of fun in Montreal.

overtime

– Speaking of the draft.

– A machine.

– Lugentz Dort is a champion. And he represents Quebec well.

– Sergei Bobrovsky doesn’t want to think about the future. [ TVAS]

– Interesting.