Kent Hughes finds himself in a delicate situation, caught red-handed by an impatience that is starting to cost the Montreal Canadiens dearly.
In wanting to secure the future of the team, he rushed too much, especially with decisions that raise questions today. Juraj Slafkovsky, for example, with an eight-year, $7.6 million per year contract, enjoys impressive financial security for a player who has yet to prove his worth.
With such a contract in his pocket, some observers, including Antoine Roussel at the microphone of Mario Langlois, wonder if this guarantee of millions does not push Slafkovsky to cut corners on the ice, comforted in a security zone which limits his commitment and its progress.
Roussel does not hesitate to raise a crucial point: “Did we overvalue this team during the offseason? » And he is not the only one to ask himself this question.
Hughes seems to believe that the reconstruction essentially involves the draft, but certain choices, like that of David Reinbacher at 5th overall, leave people perplexed.
While hopefuls like Kaiden Guhle, once lauded as the “8th wonder of the world”, are beginning to show their limits, suffering from physical fragility and struggling to make a lasting impact.
By betting big on youth and long-term contracts, Hughes may have gotten carried away, leading the organization to a point where fans’ patience is crumbling.
CH’s famous pool of prospects, once touted as one of the best in the league, is undergoing a more critical evaluation.
Certainly, the arrival of Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage could reverse the trend, but as Roussel points out, “we get too excited with our draft picks. »
Demidov will become a prodigy, but be careful not to see Michael Hage as CH’s 2nd center in the near future.
For now, the expectations of growth and improvement weigh heavily on the Canadiens’ young players, and each misstep is reflected in progress that appears to stagnate.
For the CH, the message is clear: reconstruction is not only a question of promises and enthusiasm for young talents, it requires a realistic vision, calculated patience and measured decisions.
The rest of the story of Kent Hughes and his questionable decisions within the Montreal Canadiens continues to raise questions, especially when we think back to his choice to accelerate the reconstruction by sacrificing valuable assets, like Alex Romanov, for get Kirby Dach.
To date, the bet seems very suspicious. Romanov, a robust and tenacious defender, or even the 13th overall pick in this draft, would undoubtedly have had a higher value than that of Dach, who, despite his qualities, struggles to embody the much-hoped-for second-line center.
It is difficult to see him transforming into the attacking pillar that Hughes hoped for and that the club was desperately looking for.
Kirby Dach is just one example in a series of decisions that raise questions. Let’s take Justin Barron, this young defender, but who, for the moment, is not proving to be the leading defender that the general manager of the Canadiens seemed to anticipate.
In his place, Artturi Lehkonen, a well-established and valuable player for the club, could have remained in Montreal, bringing experience and reliability.
By sending him to Colorado, Hughes sacrificed a player whose consistency and impeccable two-way play would have been enormous to guide the young Habs team.
Hughes’ decisions seem even riskier when you consider the general manager’s approach to Sean Monahan.
The veteran, who had shown good things during his time with the Canadiens, could have been kept to solidify the center line.
Hughes chose to turn his back on this option, perhaps not seeing the point in stabilizing the team with an experienced player ready to contribute immediately.
But now, in every game where the team struggles to control the center, Monahan’s name comes up like a specter of missed opportunity.
Faced with these choices and these errors of assessment, it is difficult not to draw a parallel with the Buffalo Sabres, who have long sought to build around young talents but without a clear vision, accumulating false starts and unfulfilled promises.
Are the Montreal Canadiens, a team with such a rich history and a culture of victory, getting bogged down in this same pattern of endless reconstruction, marked by rushed decisions and a muddled vision?
For supporters, frustration is mounting. Expectations were high, and patience is gone
.Hughes will now have to be extra careful in his choices if he wants to avoid the Montreal Canadiens becoming a Quebec version of the Buffalo Sabres, a team eternally in reconstruction, accumulating young prospects without ever managing to transform these choices into tangible success .
Martin St-Louis is a pee-wee coach. Kent Hughes is a…junior…GM.
