Montreal Canadiens general manager (GM) Kent Hughes has a plan, and the patience to implement that plan. Fans and media alike can be critical, disagree, or even dislike that plan, but there is no denying that every decision has made sense when explained by Hughes. Part of that plan involves maximizing assets.
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There will be top ten draft picks, multiple first-round picks, young promising prospects and even the trade values of the NHL roster players that aren’t part of the core. However, this piece looks at maximizing the depth of the prospect pool. Not every player will be able to make it to the Canadiens NHL roster, and others may not have high hopes of getting a legitimate opportunity to prove their value. It’s those assets that become a wild card and could be turned into something more.
Canadiens Setting the Stage
Before Hughes can gamble on a wild card, he needs to build a culture that fosters accountability. That is essential for individual player development. That development will need to be nurtured in an environment that the player has bought into. This is why it is important to build a team culture, and the environment they’ve created has helped to influence the players to take ownership of their development. Why mention this? The fact that Hughes isn’t doing a fire sale, shedding his veterans for anything he can get, he allows them to bring value to the club through their mentorship, acting as another layer of coaching.
For example, David Savard remains with Montreal. Hughes said he wasn’t looking to trade the 33-year-old but did add that he wasn’t untouchable and was listening to offers. He decided that the offers never outstripped the value that keeping Savard would bring. This buys the young players like Arber Xhekaj, possibly even Lane Hutson, a quality veteran to learn from as he heads into the final season of his contract with a salary-cap hit of $3.5 million. This type of patient move trickles down the organization, allowing for any player brought in to benefit from this.
Canadiens Deadline Points to Future Moves
Just about every NHL GM goes bargain bin hunting for hidden gems. Former GM Marc Bergevin was mocked for doing this, perhaps because it seemed like a wild gamble. When a player is available for cheap, it’s often because they lack something that lets them find their role in the NHL. Maybe…
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