Do we head towards the end of the two -headed monster at the Montreal Canadiens?
While the Montreal Canadian finally tastes the intensity of the playoffs, a scent of discomfort hovers over the second floor of the Bell Center. This discomfort has a name: the uncertainty around the future of the duo Jeff Gorton-Kent Hughes.
One year before the end of their respective contract, the question is no longer whether they will be extended, but if they still want to cohabit in this unique model of “two -headed monster” which, for the moment, is so best.
Gorton signed his five-year contract in December 2021. Hughes joined it in January 2022, for him too a five-year contract-where his initial half-season counted for a full year. Result: in 2025-2026, both will be free as air in the summer of 2026.
And it is impossible to ignore that tensions are starting to sweat.
Because their divergence of increasingly visible visions
For some time now, persistent rumors have reported deep disagreements between Gorton and Hughes. The case of Arber Xhekaj is revealing: Gorton would have liked to keep it in alignment to add “shortbread paper” to series, while Hughes, more anchored in the modernity of advanced statistics, wondered about its net impact.
Same thing with Florian Xhekaj. Gorton, a supporter of robustness and physical heaviness, wanted to act quickly to remind him to hurt Tom Wilson.
Hughes, always more methodical, pleaded for patience and a gradual approach.
Two visions. Two mentalities. Two team construction philosophies that are seriously starting to speak.
The Canadian’s decision -making process is apparently based on collegiality and mutual respect. But there is a time when too much respect is night.
The problem is simple: who really contrasts when the visions differ? Who imposes a clear guideline? Who fists on the table to say: “This is what we do”?
In a recent interview, Gorton has long praised the courage of his players, the progression of the team, the complicity with Martin St-Louis.
But he carefully avoided talking about Kent Hughes and his contract, as if this subject was taboo. However, everyone knows that Gorton receives at least 5 million per year, while Hughes caps up under 1.7 million. A scathing difference, almost insulting for such a powerful DG.
This silence is eloquent. He says more than a thousand public statements.
Meanwhile, on the ice, the Canadian literally gets stirred by Washington’s capital. The series are often the great revealer of the structural deficiencies of a team, and that of CH is brilliant: it is sorely lacking in robustness.
Is the message confused because of power struggles at the top? Did the absence of a single loud voice harmed the identity of the team?
If two Arber Xhekaj would have been released in the wild to respond to the blows, this series would not be 1-3 in favor of Washington will say Jeff Gorton.
Martin St-Louis, brilliant in several respects, has also shown his limits behind the bench in series, probably leading his worst match since his arrival by removing his goalkeeper prematurely at the end of the game when he had to wait for the game to be won.
St-Louis also has a lot of difficulties in his combinations and confrontation, when he is given a lesson by Spencer Carbery.
But at the top, the absence of a clear boss does not help. Especially since Geoff Molson is a “soft” owner
The fact that there is no real boss hurts in Montreal. We are trampled by arbitration. In Montreal, it seems that there is no one to impose respect, neither on the ice, nor behind the scenes.
And while the reconstruction is advancing faster than expected, the latent problem of Hughes’ salary becomes impossible to ignore.
Kent Hughes is one of the least well -paid CEOs of the whole NHL, despite an impeccable transaction sheet, perfect wage bill management, and an outstanding ability to reconstruct with intelligence.
By way of comparison:
Julien Brisebois (Tampa Bay) wins $ 3.5 million per year
Jim Nill (Dallas) : 3,2 M$
Lou Lamoriello (Icelanders): $ 3.0 million before his dismissal.
Doug Armstrong (St. Louis) : 3,0 M$
Don Sweeney (Boston) : 2,9 M$
And Kent Hughes… less than $ 1.7 million. In addition to not being the real boss.
Meanwhile, Jeff Gorton is courted by organizations that would immediately offer him a DG position – and probably with more power and a bigger check.
Towards an inevitable divorce?
One year before the end of their contracts, the Gorton-Hughes duo is on a wire.
Gorton wants to regain full powers. Hughes wants to be recognized at its true value, financially and hierarchically.
The current dynamics-an underpaid CEO which must obtain the approval of its superior for each decision-will last longer.
If Montreal wants to keep what has been built, Geoff Molson will have to make a choice. A real one.
Otherwise, the two -headed monster will explode in 2026, and the Canadian could not lose one, but two architects that will have put the franchise back on track.
After all, this two -headed monster has delivered spectacular results so far. But is it still viable in the long term? Nothing is less certain.
