Hughes talks Caufield, goalies and Laval Rocket in mid-season review

MONTREAL – Canadiens’ general manager Kent Hughes addressed the media on Monday to provide a 2023-24 mid-season review.

Here are some highlights from his press conference at the Bell Centre.

Please note that some answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Kent Hughes on Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield’s seasons so far:

We’re seeing progress in Nick’s game, especially defensively. I know the points are still there, but we’re seeing him continue to develop into a 200-foot player. So, I’m very happy with his progression. [In Cole’s case,] there’s no denying that you want to see your goalscorers score. That being said, we’re well aware that the hardest thing to do consistently, from one year to the next, is score. The Ovechkins of this world aside, it’s not something you see all that often. What I don’t want to see, however, is Cole changing his style of play or for him to feel more pressure because he’s getting paid more money. We want Cole to be Cole; he brings so much to this team. What impresses me most about him, is that he’s still the guy smiling in the room. He’s so important; he breathes life into the team. And if he’s feeling the pressure, he isn’t showing it.

Hughes on the reality of where the team’s at compared to his expectations:

There’s no question we didn’t want to go through another season of injuries. Losing Kirby Dach in the first period of the second game of the year complicates matters – not only for our chances to compete every night, but in the bigger picture. We lose a year of evaluating Dach and where his game’s at. We know that the potential is there, but we want to see him on the ice. Then, we lost Alex Newhook for two and a half months, right at a time where he and Suzuki were starting to build chemistry. I think our coaches are doing an excellent job with the cards they’ve been dealt. We know we don’t have enough depth; that’s where we want to be, but we aren’t there yet. We’re seeing progress in Juraj Slafkovsky’s game, and Jayden Struble arrived earlier than we expected. It’s a good problem to have. We’re also seeing Samuel Montembeault develop more consistency and proving that he’s capable. All in all, we’re looking for consistency and we want the players to push for it.

Hughes explains the three-goalie tandem situation:

Was it my decision to go with three goalies? Yes. We weren’t ready to put Cayden Primeau on waivers. Based on discussions we had during training camp, we were confident he’d have been claimed off waivers. So, we decided to keep three goalies and explore trade options as the season went along if there were offers that came in. The plan wasn’t to have three goalies all season, and that’s still not the case but, today, I can’t guarantee you that we’re 100% sure we’re going to make a trade.

Hughes’ evaluation of Jean-Francois Houle’s job with the Laval Rocket this season:

He’s done a great job. The coaching staff and the development group are there pretty consistently, whether it’s Scott Pellerin, Adam [Nicholas], Paul Byron or Francis Bouillon. […] Collectively, the team is winning. I know early on goaltending was a factor and that seems to have stabilized, too. They’re on a heck of a run. We’re hopeful that will continue and the players will have the benefit of having a playoff run.

Hughes on the logjam of young, talented defensemen in the organization:

I think there’s two factors. One is progression and development. Whether a player is developing here or in Laval, if we see that our players are progressing then it certainly provides a longer runway to figure out who stays and who goes. The other element is obviously waivers, because at some point in time, waivers will force your hand. Will we explore where we have chances to rebalance the ledger, so to speak? We’ll pursue them. Do I feel we have a gun to our head to that right now? No, not at all. […] So, we’ll continue to look to do that but timing wise, at this point, we don’t feel any urgency to do it. If the deal’s there we’ll do it. If not, we won’t.