Kent Hughes made a very special request to the NHL executives

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MarcO
September 3, 2023 (0:14)

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For the 2023-2024 season, the Canadiens' management made a special request to the NHL. Indeed, Kent Hughes adjusted his pre-season schedule, reducing it from eight games to just six, with the aim of minimizing the chances of players getting injured.

Notably, we remember that Mike Matheson suffered a groin injury during pre-season games last year, consequently missing the beginning of the regular season.

"Last year, the Canadiens played eight pre-season games; this year we've moved to six. It was yet again a priority for the Canadiens' top executives, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, to reduce the number of pre-season games for several reasons. First off, we wanted to prevent players from being worn out before the first game of the season. Secondly, because of injuries, Mike Matheson got injured during training camp and couldn't return for the start of the season last year." - Renaud Lavoie

Do you believe this is a wise decision by the organization to cut down on the number of pre-season games?

It's worth noting that the Montreal Canadiens' pre-season games will kick off on September 25 with a match against the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre. Martin St-Louis's team will play four home games before heading to Toronto and Ottawa to wrap up the training camp.

Here's the complete pre-season game schedule:

One thing's for sure; we're eagerly anticipating the start of training camp as several of the Canadiens' prospects will attempt to secure a spot with the main team. It will be a perfect opportunity to see how the youngsters fare against NHL veterans.