Kent Hughes Who? The Montreal Canadiens Have A New General Manager & This Is What We Know
He is the team's 18th general manager.
After a long wait full of rumours and speculation, the Montreal Canadiens have finally named their new general manager. Welcome to the circus, Kent Hughes!
As part of the new administration with Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and Vice President of Communications Chantal Machabée, Hughes is an outside-the-box hire for a team that desperately needs a cultural rebuild both on and off the ice.
Kent Hughes has been named the 18th general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.\n\n#GoHabsGohttps://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/kent-hughes-named-canadiens-general-manager/c-329865598?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=CHCcontent&utm_content=EN-0118-GMRelease\u00a0\u2026— Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@Canadiens Montr\u00e9al) 1642516262
Hughes has never held a front-office role at an NHL team. His experience as a player agent, however, is well regarded. He was a key figure at Quartexx Management based in Montreal and represented several high-profile québécois players including Patrice Bergeron, Kris Letang and Anthony Beauvillier.
"We are very excited to add Kent Hughes to our organization," Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said in a statement. "Kent is highly respected in the hockey world, having built an excellent reputation as an NHL player agent for over 25 years now."
Hughes replaces outgoing general manager Marc Bergevin, who was fired in November 2021 after an atrocious start to the Habs NHL season. The misery has continued for the Habs, who are currently sitting in dead last in the NHL standings.
According to the NHL, Hughes grew up in Beaconsfield. He played hockey in college and "still holds several of the school's scoring records." He never made it to the NHL as a player, though.
"The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates," Gorton said in a statement.
"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."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
