Hughes: ‘Many players have reached a new level in their game’

BROSSARD – New Year, same tradition: the GM’s midseason review. With the Canadiens soon approaching the halfway mark of their 2024-25 season, general manager Kent Hughes held a press conference to discuss the first half of the campaign with the media at the CN Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Among the many topics Hughes discussed were the Habs’ tough start to the season, the acquisition of defenseman Alexandre Carrier, and his philosophy for asset management.

Here are some highlights from his media availability:

Please note questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Hughes on the tough start to the season:

I don’t think this will surprise anyone: we weren’t happy with the start to the season. We weren’t playing up to our abilities. There were several players who were weren’t playing up to their potential individually. What happens in such moments, and we saw it, is that the team’s confidence is affected, too. I don’t think the team gave up, but it was more that it was lacking that confidence. Hats off to the coaches for making adjustments so that the team would play better. But, we also saw that many players who were not playing up to their potential really reached a new level in their game.

Hughes on adding Carrier to the lineup:

What we wanted with Carrier was to fill a role we didn’t have internally. We wanted to add someone who could play higher up in the lineup, someone capable of managing minutes against thge likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, or Auston Matthews. It’s hard to give that to young players. We wanted to get to the next level as a team and play meaningful games after Christmas. It was important for us to add some experience. That experience definitely had a positive effect on the team and on the young players.

Hughes on the importance of the team gaining experience and performing in meaningful games:

We wanted to be in the mix in the sense that, in terms of progressing as a team, in terms of getting where we ultimately want to get to, there are certain things they have to experience. So, we want this group and this young group of players to be under the pressure of learning to win when it counts. [...] That was the most important thing about being in the mix, at least in mine and Jeff’s point of view.

Hughes on the culture in the locker room:

I would say there’s a certain culture that’s being established in the room. I’ve seen it in other organizations, once it’s established in the room, it gets passed down from one year to the next, from veterans to young players. I firmly believe that in a team sport, especially a sport like hockey, everyone must align their individual goals with the team’s goals – and that’s not easy. And when it doesn’t happen, I find it’s very hard to win in sports.

Hughes on the evolution of Martin St-Louis' role with the power play after Alex Burrows left the bench:

Marty wanted to wait and see, to have a better feel for what he needed. We were prepared to support him in that role. Going forward, I don’t know what we’ll do going into next season. What impresses me is the reason we hired him in the first place, because of the qualities that he brings. It was his analytical mind, his emotional intelligence, his leadership qualities, his hockey IQ. This is somebody who rises up to challenges. He doesn’t shrink, he’s adaptable, he’s bright, and he’s able to make adjustments. We hired a guy without experience. We expect that with each week, with each month, with each year, he [gains] that experience. He’s now been head coach for three years. If you’re that type of personality that he is, you expect that he continues to get better. So, we’ll see what happens in the offseason, whether he feels like he needs somebody or we feel like he needs something.

Hughes on his philosophy for asset management in the current circumstances:

There’s a theory to it and a practical element to it. If we were going to be making trades and getting futures, we might push them back even further at this point in time. And then whether use those ultimately to turn around and trade and get something we felt we needed, I think that’s probably the more likely scenario. But, trading for futures... if the underlying question is who we’re keeping and who we would be trading to get those, my answer is the same: we have 22 games [before the trade deadline], we’ve got to see where we are before ready to make any of those decisions.

Hughes on if Ivan Demidov might come play for the Canadiens this season:

No. There’s a deadline for a player to play this year and his season won’t be done by then.