In the world of professional hockey, there are several ways to assess the value of an individual: his statistics, his influence on ice, his ability to carry out his team towards the playoffs or, for a manager, the ability to build winning training.
In Montreal, Kent Hughes, the Director general of the Canadian, checks all these boxes brilliantly. However, when you observe its remuneration more closely, there is something to fall from above: Kent Hughes is among the least well -paid directors of the national hockey League with an annual salary of $ 1.7 million.
A scandalous aberration that the owner Geoff Molson must imperatively correct in the summer of 2026, when the Hughes contract expires.
In January 2022, Kent Hughes signed a five -year contract with the Habs. An attractive initial agreement on paper, but with a hidden trap: the first half-season already had as a full year.
Result ? As of next summer, in 2026, his contract will eventually, forcing Geoff Molson to negotiate a new agreement.
Knowing this, it is imperative that the owner of the Canadian rectifies a blatant injustice: Hughes must triple his salary, at least, to join the ranks of his best remunerated counterparts in the League.
To date, Hughes’ salary remains confidential, but an extremely reliable source, frontoffesports.com, assesses it to less than $ 1.7 million per year.
Unworthy remuneration for a man whose efficiency and talent clearly place at the top of NHL managers.
To put this injustice into perspective, remember that Jeff Gorton, vice-president of hockey operations, affects at least $ 5 million a year.
Martin St-Louis, adulated head coach but still less crucial than Hughes in the long-term plan, will drop to a salary of almost 5 million annuals next year.
However, it is Kent Hughes, the very one who orchestrates the spectacular rebirth of the Canadian, who finds himself at the bottom of the salary scale.
This paradox becomes particularly ridiculous when we remember that his predecessor, Marc Bergevin, pocked more than $ 3 million annually.
Bergevin, whose reign was marked by disastrous contracts and impulsive management, received almost double what Hughes touches today.
How to explain that a CEO whose work is close to perfection is paid as less than nothing? It is simply insulting for Hughes and laughable for the whole organization.
Hughes easily deserves to be in the same wage category as its best remunerated peers. Let’s go around the annual wages of the best -paid directors in the league:
Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 3,5 M$
Jim Nill (Dallas Stars) – 3,2 M$
Lou Lamoriello (Islanders de New York) – 3.0 m $
Doug Armstrong (Blues de St-Louis) – 3,0 M$
Don Sweeney (Bruins de Boston) – 2,9 M$
Kyle Dubas
Don Waddell (Blue Jackets de Columbus) – 2,7 M$
Kelly McCrimmon (Golden Knights de Vegas) – 2,4 M$
Rob Blake (Kings de Los Angeles) – 2,3 M$
-Bill Guerin (Wild Du Minnesota) – 2.2 m $
Bill Zito (Panthers de la Floride) – 2,1 M$
Danny Brière (Philadelphia flyers) – $ 2.0 million
Tom Fitzgerald (Devils du New Jersey) – 1.9 m $
Steve Yzerman (Red Wings de Detroit) – 1,8 M$
Barry Trotz (Predators de Nashville) – 1.7 m $
How to explain that Hughes, the one who skillfully and methodically reconstruct a team that was said to be condemned to a long crossing of the desert, is in the cellar of the classification? Logic completely escapes.
It is enough to observe the successes of Hughes to measure the absurdity of the situation. In just three years, he managed to propel the Canadian to the playoffs at least two years before the initial forecasts.
He orchestrated 32 remarkable transactions, thus accumulating 23 choices in the recovery, including six of the first round. He acquired key players like Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and especially Sean Monahan, transforming complex situations into real master strokes. Hughes is the one who gave hope to supporters of CH.
In comparison, look at Darnell Nurse and its 74 million over eight years with EDMONTON Oilers, considered today as one of the worst in the league.
Who has negotiated this colossal agreement? Kent Hughes, then nursery agent. Hughes has always been able to sell the potential of its customers at gold. Patrice Bergeron (55 million), Kris Letang (58 million), Mike Matheson (39 million) and Vincent Lecavalier (135 million) are among the players who have benefited from the talents of Hughes’ extraordinary negotiator.
In total, Hughes generated more than $ 290 million in contracts. However, today, he accepts a derisory salary to direct one of the most prestigious franchises in professional hockey.
But the salary comedy has lasted enough. From 2026, Geoff Molson will imperatively have to open the portfolio wide.
Given his return, Hughes undoubtedly deserves a salary equivalent to that of Jeff Gorton and Martin St-Louis, or nearly 5 million dollars annually.
Tripling your current salary is not a favor, it is a necessity, obvious to maintain the prestige of the Montreal organization.
Imagine the situation if Hughes suddenly decided to leave Montreal, frustrated by such ungrateful treatment. What immense loss would be for the organization!
His ridiculous salary is no longer just a source of mockery, but also a real danger for the future stability of the team.
The Canadian finally found his identity and prestige thanks to the strategic genius of Hughes. Geoff Molson now has only one option: to extend his CEO by offering him a remuneration that meets his success, value and the immense impact he generates for the Montreal Canadian.
Not doing it would be an act of pure negligence, a shame and an insult to the one who is in the process of becoming, without a doubt, the director general of the year in the National Hockey League.
The five -year contract that Kent Hughes signed in January 2022 was a stroke of genius for the Canadian … but a real flight to the NHL level.
Because at the moment, less than two years before the end of this agreement, Hughes is literally blowing up the bank.
Its transactions, its vision, its ability to rebuild faster than expected, its composure and surgical management explode the value of the organization.
He performed at an elite level for a salary worthy of a low -level CEO. But that everyone says it: this flight will not last.
In 2026, you will have to take out the checkbook, because what Hughes currently delivers to the Canadian is a yield that exceeds all expectations. And he does it … for peanuts.
