Hughes talks Petry, Byron, Price and Slafkovsky

MONTREAL -- General manager Kent Hughes spoke with reporters via Zoom following the opening of the free-agent market.

Here are a few highlights from his media availability:
Hughes on the trade talks involving Jeff Petry:
We're still working. We're talking with some teams. That's our priority, to trade him, if we can complete a trade that works for us, too. Jeff is an important defenseman on our team. He isn't a player that we're looking to trade because of his play. It's about his family circumstances. If we're going to trade him, we need to get some flexibility under the salary cap. That's important. Secondly, we could also get a player or prospect that could help us be better in the future.

Hughes on the type of trade he's trying to make to free up more cap space:
We can accomplish our goal in a number of ways. We aren't looking to take on salary or give up prospects or draft picks for another team to take Jeff Petry. Jeff is a very good defenseman. We don't have a lot of depth on defense right now, so if we trade him, we need to improve our team now and for the future.
Hughes on the status of forward Paul Byron:
It's a possibility [that he could miss training camp]. We don't know 100 percent. I know he underwent a minor procedure, and it takes time to see how it responds to an injection. We're waiting to see how his body responds to that. There's a risk that he won't be ready come September.

Hughes on his confidence level that he can move Petry:
We can accomplish a trade. We had trades available on Wednesday, and at the end of the day, it's about finding a trade that makes sense for the Montreal Canadiens. If we're able to find it, we'll do it. If not, Jeff is going to have to return to Montreal and play here. We love him as a player. I think he loves everything about Montreal, other than the complications from a family perspective. We'll continue to try. This isn't something that has to happen today or tomorrow. It could happen in a week, it could happen in a month, and we'll continue to work in that regard. The profile of the trade could look many different ways. There's more than one way for us to accomplish what we need to accomplish in that trade, but we're not going to do that trade until it works for us as well.
Hughes on the status of goaltender Carey Price following his Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injection:
You've got to give it time for the injection to have its intended effect, and then when he returns [to training], he'll have a progression of rehab and return to activity along the way. We're always in the same position with him in terms of watching how his knee responds and is there a point or particular exercise as he ramps up that triggers the inflammation again and makes it difficult for him to be a full-time goalie. I don't know if I have that answer in terms of what the exact schedule would be for him [with respect to his offseason training]. From our perspective, whether he's ready to go in September or October or November is less concerning than getting kind of a more permanent resolution to the situation, which is: Is he capable of being a full-time goalie in the NHL or not? When we get that, then we have clarity.

Hughes on the plan for first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky:
We're going to take that week by week, month by month. I think the plan is for him to return at some point in early August and train here, skate here, work with the development group here, and get to know the players on the team and just kind of acclimatize to life in Montreal and North America.
Hughes on Slafkovsky moving to North America in the near future:
I'm not worried about it because he left home early. I think at 14 years old he went to Austria, and then he went to Finland. He already plays against men. He's physically ready for this. I'm very impressed with him as a person and the way he handles things. He's very mature for an 18-year-old. The question for us is less about bringing him to North America or not, it's just about managing the year for him to make sure that we protect him development-wise.

Hughes on possible additions to the front office:
I think after analytics, our focus is certainly going to be on an assistant coach. That's something else that needs to be in place before the season starts. We have to hire a couple of scouts on the pro side as well. As far as an assistant general manager, there's no plan at the moment or need at the moment as far as we see it, but we're going to continue to evaluate. There is the possibility for more additions, but I just don't know that they're on the front burner here because I want to learn more.