It's now confirmed for Kent Hughes and he has a step ahead
Since taking office with the Canadiens, Kent Hughes has consistently made smart moves and has never been afraid to sacrifice veterans for youth.
His primary goal when he arrived was to lower the team's salary cap, and it's clear that this strategy is paying off. The GM has made several transactions in line with this goal, and let's see where it has led today.
Hughes always has some flexibility, which gives him negotiating power that other organizations may not necessarily have. This strategy in Montreal, where the owner has deep pockets, is very effective.
With this flexibility, he can take on a bad short-term contract and add prospects, and Geoff Molson allows him to do so, even when the team isn't winning.
Another part of Hughes' strategy is his salary scale. He sells his plan effectively, which leads players like Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Kaiden Guhle to accept less lucrative deals.
Combining these two aspects, it's clear that Kent Hughes' strategy is excellent. It ensures he has cap space each year and strong negotiating power with both his players and other teams.
Additionally, the pipeline will always be refreshed, as he can acquire quality prospects by accepting bad contracts, as he did with Sean Monahan, for instance.
Another smart move was trading Jeff Petry and Mike Hoffman, thus shedding over $7 million in salary, to gain second, third, and fourth-round picks in the mega three-team deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks.
By continuing this way, Hughes will always be a step ahead of other general managers. Of course, there are other teams that don't reach the salary cap, but they don't necessarily have the revenues of the Canadiens.
| POLL | ||
In your opinion, will Kent Hughes be able to consistently follow his strategy? | ||
| Yes | 210 | 92.5 % |
| No | 17 | 7.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
