HF Habs: Most disappointing Hughes Acquisition (All Michkov draft talk here)

[River Meadow]

Anything the Habs GM does is the right move at the right time

This is the Habs fan motto since time immemorial

This is the correct answer.

It's generally only okay to really critique the moves in 5-10 years when the GM is fired or close to be fired.

For now, we're still in the honeymoon phase.

KENT CAN DO NO WRONG! <3

 

[River Meadow]

What a load of bullshit.

If you have criticisms, state them. You won’t because that would require actual debate and it’s much easier to sit there in the cheap seats throwing bombs.

This GM has done exactly what the bulk of us have wanted from mgmt for the past few decades. He’s stockpiled picks and prospects. No, not every move always works out but it didn’t always work out for Sam Pollock.

Tell us what mistakes you think he’s made. Be specific.

Given the assets he inherited, does he really deserve so much credit for "stockpiling picks and prospects"? Common sense suggests that anyone in his position would do the same. Most people on this message board would have made similar moves.

That said, he also attempted to speed up the rebuild with some trades, such as giving up a first and second-round draft pick to acquire Alex Newhook. While some may appreciate Newhook's potential, he hasn't quite become the player the team needs, especially for a playoff run.

Kent Hughes seems to have a pattern of acquiring players who have yet to meet expectations, including Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Justin Barron. These kinds of transactions have been accumulating over time.

Ultimately, I hope his usual strategy of trying to accelerate the rebuild through the draft works out positively. I sincerely hope he avoids making any trades with the Colorado Avalanche this time around.

 

[Redux91]

"Anything the Habs GM does is the right move at the right time

This is the Habs fan motto since time immemorial"

And this is where these guys just simply don't understand that this isn't what 'we're' actually trying to insinuate

We are actually pushing back on what a few special people are shouting that "EVERYTHING Kent does is not what *I* would have done, and so therefore I deem it bad and I don't like his choice and I don't like the man, HuGo are wrong 100% of the time"

*WE* the more tempered and rational, have no problem giving HuGo either credit for good moves, and skepticism for questionable moves
It's a batting avg. And nobody *ever* bats 1.000%
And all things considered, this management team is doing a BANG UP job, a REAL construct, an actual re-build and the trajectory this year finally reached UPward and even almost ahead of their projected scheduling
Things are going GREAT and are only going to be getting *better*

But these 'special people' can't be bothered, nope. *every*. *single*.*thing*. Our 2 GMs do will NEVER be enough for these type of people
We should have this instead! We should have that!
The real question is what do they even WANT lol, a good team?, or just a platform to continue their mis-placed hate/rage/insecurities?

Comes with the territory I guess, with a Spectrum as big that is the Montreal Canadiens fandom
By default we'll have the *greatest* fans ans unfortunately also the *worst* of fans

Obviously not every single thing they're doing is *gold*
That's the POINT ffs, they are at least *actively* TRYING things, and never depleting the assets too much or getting in too deep with a 'project that didn't hit'
That's science ffs lol, experiment til you reach eureka

Even with a couple 'failed experiments' the team finished dead last? Or made the playoffs?
1. Not all the experiments are 'finished' quite yet
2. There will be more experiments on the way btw, eat it lol, gotta keep trying stuff til you get it right

 

[LesCactus]

I do wonder if Hughes regrets that Kovacevic trade. Could’ve used him this season, but no one figured he’d improve so much. Hughes hasn’t really made any hilariously bad moves yet, and if wasn’t us some other team would’ve paid that package for former young first round picks in Dach/Newhook.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Given the assets he inherited, does he really deserve so much credit for "stockpiling picks and prospects"?

Yes.

Our last GM didn't acquire a single first round pick. Our current GM traded for several right off the hop. Our old GM said centers werent' availalbe. Our current one got a 3rd overall, big skilled center in his second year here. Our old GM acquired zero superstars. Our new one has traded for a pick that turned into Hutson and spent a concerted effort to draft high and it's yielded Demidov.

The GM has a plan and is executing on it. Stockpiling picks and prospects is exactly what we should've been doing for the past 30 years. If it weren't for a one time lottery, we wouldn't have even gotten Carey Price...

Common sense suggests that anyone in his position would do the same. Most people on this message board would have made similar moves.

And yet we haven't. And several people here have argued against doing this for decades now. "We can't rebuild!" "Rebuilding is for losers!" "Nobody will accept it!"... every excuse in the book.

And he hasn't just stockpiled picks and prospects. He's leveraged cap space to his advantage. Getting firsts coming and going for Monahan was absolute brilliance. Contrast that with what we've seen... Bergevin went two years with Carey Price's prime and ten mil in cap space!!!

Bergevin by the way is not the bar of success. But this idea that "anyone would've done that" is demonstrably false. I don't know how you can say that with a straight face after watching how this franchise has been run for the past three decades.

That said, he also attempted to speed up the rebuild with some trades, such as giving up a first and second-round draft pick to acquire Alex Newhook. While some may appreciate Newhook's potential, he hasn't quite become the player the team needs, especially for a playoff run.

Kent Hughes seems to have a pattern of acquiring players who have yet to meet expectations, including Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Justin Barron. These kinds of transactions have been accumulating over time.

Ultimately, I hope his usual strategy of trying to accelerate the rebuild through the draft works out positively. I sincerely hope he avoids making any trades with the Colorado Avalanche this time around.

If Alex Newhook is the worst move we can come up with in the face of what we've accumulated, I'm not sure what to say to his critics. No, not every move will work out. And maybe the picks we gave up for Newhook come back to bite us. I don't know anymore about the future than anyone else. But I understand the rationale for his moves. They constitute DIRECTION. They make sense even if they don't work out.

I have no issues with people thinking HUGO's overrated or they don't like some moves or think he should've done this or that... that's all good. But to insinuate that people are a bunch of homers for thinking he's done well is just nonsense. He's done exacty what we've been screaming for. It's not 'aplogism' to say that you're happy with what he's done so far. Fact is that we're eons ahead of where we were and if you'd asked people four years ago if they'd be happy with where we are now the answer would be a resounding 'yes.'

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

"Anything the Habs GM does is the right move at the right time

This is the Habs fan motto since time immemorial"

And this is where these guys just simply don't understand that this isn't what 'we're' actually trying to insinuate

It's also a huge, huge lie.

Anyone who's been on this board for any amount of time knows that.

 

[Miller Time]

This is the correct answer.

It's generally only okay to really critique the moves in 5-10 years when the GM is fired or close to be fired.

For now, we're still in the honeymoon phase.

KENT CAN DO NO WRONG! <3

Were you not around here for any of the A.Savard, Gainey, Gauthier or Bergevin eras?

Your narrative doesn't fit the reality of varied assessments & patience shown each of these regimes on this board.

 

[digmor crusher]

Given the assets he inherited, does he really deserve so much credit for "stockpiling picks and prospects"? Common sense suggests that anyone in his position would do the same. Most people on this message board would have made similar moves.

That said, he also attempted to speed up the rebuild with some trades, such as giving up a first and second-round draft pick to acquire Alex Newhook. While some may appreciate Newhook's potential, he hasn't quite become the player the team needs, especially for a playoff run.

Kent Hughes seems to have a pattern of acquiring players who have yet to meet expectations, including Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Justin Barron. These kinds of transactions have been accumulating over time.

Ultimately, I hope his usual strategy of trying to accelerate the rebuild through the draft works out positively. I sincerely hope he avoids making any trades with the Colorado Avalanche this time around.

Well if every move a GM made worked out then at the very least they would be in the final every year.

 

[CzarDemidov]

"Anything the Habs GM does is the right move at the right time

This is the Habs fan motto since time immemorial"

And this is where these guys just simply don't understand that this isn't what 'we're' actually trying to insinuate

We are actually pushing back on what a few special people are shouting that "EVERYTHING Kent does is not what *I* would have done, and so therefore I deem it bad and I don't like his choice and I don't like the man, HuGo are wrong 100% of the time"

*WE* the more tempered and rational, have no problem giving HuGo either credit for good moves, and skepticism for questionable moves
It's a batting avg. And nobody *ever* bats 1.000%
And all things considered, this management team is doing a BANG UP job, a REAL construct, an actual re-build and the trajectory this year finally reached UPward and even almost ahead of their projected scheduling
Things are going GREAT and are only going to be getting *better*

But these 'special people' can't be bothered, nope. *every*. *single*.*thing*. Our 2 GMs do will NEVER be enough for these type of people
We should have this instead! We should have that!
The real question is what do they even WANT lol, a good team?, or just a platform to continue their mis-placed hate/rage/insecurities?

Comes with the territory I guess, with a Spectrum as big that is the Montreal Canadiens fandom
By default we'll have the *greatest* fans ans unfortunately also the *worst* of fans

Obviously not every single thing they're doing is *gold*
That's the POINT ffs, they are at least *actively* TRYING things, and never depleting the assets too much or getting in too deep with a 'project that didn't hit'
That's science ffs lol, experiment til you reach eureka

Even with a couple 'failed experiments' the team finished dead last? Or made the playoffs?
1. Not all the experiments are 'finished' quite yet
2. There will be more experiments on the way btw, eat it lol, gotta keep trying stuff til you get it right

What are his worst moves and why, in your opinion?

 

[AHShadow]

What are his worst moves and why, in your opinion?

I think Kent made lots of mistakes during his tenure, but a lot of his mistakes are often mitigated (sometimes by luck).

We lost the Lehkonen for Barron trade, but Kent fixed it by trading Barron for Carrier and without Carrier we don't make the playoffs this year.

We overpaid for Newhook, but I wouldn't say by a huge amount. At worst he's going to be trade bait somewhere else (like Barron) or he finds a place as a speedy PK 3rd line guy.

Not drafting Michkov was a huge mistake at the time, but he got lucky and drafted Demidov to mitigate it. And now that the dust has settled, I think the majority seems to be happy with Demidov + Reinbacher.

At the time, I was pretty pissed we drafted Slaf instead of either Wright or Cooley, but looking back I'm very happy with how that turned out. We are currently looking to add big skilled players and we would've been missing one if we had either Cooley or Wright. I also think that having Cooley + Suzuki + Caufield would make us way to soft to play against in the playoffs.

So again, Kent is not perfect and a lot of us expect him to make mistakes. I just think that often his mistakes are overblown by you and other similar posters that act like he's the worst GM ever.

We'll see what he does this summer though, since he's finally entering the hard part of the rebuild.

 

[LaP]

Given the assets he inherited, does he really deserve so much credit for "stockpiling picks and prospects"? Common sense suggests that anyone in his position would do the same. Most people on this message board would have made similar moves.

Don't think "anyone" gets two 1st round picks for taking on Monahan's contract.

 

[Lshap]

This conversation is going to get a lot more interesting in the next few months, as the roster transitions from 'Rebuilding' to 'Building'. So far, Hughes' biggest moves have involved picks and secondary assets. The most we've lost is potential.

However, we're now at the stage when we expect a winning team. That means higher stakes trades and signings. It also means losing a good roster player or two in order to acquire a necessary core player. Get ready for half our board to be pissed off at our GM for whatever big trade is coming. But that's the risk good GMs need to take – it means Hughes isn't afraid to swing big.

 

[Andrei79]

I think Kent made lots of mistakes during his tenure, but a lot of his mistakes are often mitigated (sometimes by luck).

We lost the Lehkonen for Barron trade, but Kent fixed it by trading Barron for Carrier and without Carrier we don't make the playoffs this year.

We overpaid for Newhook, but I wouldn't say by a huge amount. At worst he's going to be trade bait somewhere else (like Barron) or he finds a place as a speedy PK 3rd line guy.

Not drafting Michkov was a huge mistake at the time, but he got lucky and drafted Demidov to mitigate it. And now that the dust has settled, I think the majority seems to be happy with Demidov + Reinbacher.

At the time, I was pretty pissed we drafted Slaf instead of either Wright or Cooley, but looking back I'm very happy with how that turned out. We are currently looking to add big skilled players and we would've been missing one if we had either Cooley or Wright. I also think that having Cooley + Suzuki + Caufield would make us way to soft to play against in the playoffs.

So again, Kent is not perfect and a lot of us expect him to make mistakes. I just think that often his mistakes are overblown by you and other similar posters that act like he's the worst GM ever.

We'll see what he does this summer though, since he's finally entering the hard part of the rebuild.

His trade record is still mixed. I agree with the idea behind the moves, but Bergy, for all his fault, acquired both Danault and Petry for nothing and Suzuki (and Tatar) for an unwanted player who needed a contract. Two or three players of that quality and suddenly the team is getting competitive real fast. The Newhook, Dach and Barron trades had that objective, but they didn't succeed. Dach looked like he was going to be a homerun, but his body is broken now.

 

[habbubba]

This conversation is going to get a lot more interesting in the next few months, as the roster transitions from 'Rebuilding' to 'Building'. So far, Hughes' biggest moves have involved picks and secondary assets. The most we've lost is potential.

However, we're now at the stage when we expect a winning team. That means higher stakes trades and signings. It also means losing a good roster player or two in order to acquire a necessary core player. Get ready for half our board to be pissed off at our GM for whatever big trade is coming. But that's the risk good GMs need to take – it means Hughes isn't afraid to swing big.

Does he and will he have the balls to do whats best for the future? He hasn't moved roster players yet and the roster for the upcoming season is essentially complete if the resign Heinemen. I wouldn't be surprised if he remains status quo but will be pleasantly surprised if he takes a big swing.

 

[Lshap]

Does he and will he have the balls to do whats best for the future? He hasn't moved roster players yet and the roster for the upcoming season is essentially complete if the resign Heinemen. I wouldn't be surprised if he remains status quo but will be pleasantly surprised if he takes a big swing.

The good news is that we have two 1st-round picks this year that can be leveraged. Hughes will probably have to add a good player or prospect to the deal if we want to land a 2C or top-4 D, but having all those assets means he might be able to get it done without losing one of our top players.

Hughes has already proven he's a shrewd, ballsy negotiator. It doesn't mean some deals won't work out, but any chance of becoming a contender starts with a willingness to take risks.

 

[Habnot]

His trade record is still mixed. I agree with the idea behind the moves, but Bergy, for all his fault, acquired both Danault and Petry for nothing and Suzuki (and Tatar) for an unwanted player who needed a contract. Two or three players of that quality and suddenly the team is getting competitive real fast. The Newhook, Dach and Barron trades had that objective, but they didn't succeed. Dach looked like he was going to be a homerun, but his body is broken now.

Here we go with the revisionist history.

Bergy was here for 8 years and the only impactful trade was the Patches trade (and he lucked into Suzuki.) Otherwise, the last couple of years of drafting had much more impact than his trades. Even Danault was luck - he kinda was a throw in and was playing AHL - look at his stats.

 

[Andrei79]

Here we go with the revisionist history.

Bergy was here for 8 years and the only impactful trade was the Patches trade (and he lucked into Suzuki.) Otherwise, the last couple of years of drafting had much more impact than his trades. Even Danault was luck - he kinda was a throw in and was playing AHL - look at his stats.

I don't understand these posts. I've made my feelings clear on MB for years, he was one of the worst GMs in the league. But, there's no need to deny reality. There's no revisionism here: he factually acquired Petry, Suzuki and Danault and for close to nothing. Whether through luck or being an idiot savant at those moments doesn't matter. They were, in real life, acquired and played for the franchise.

 

[The Great Weal]

I don't understand these posts. I've made my feelings clear on MB for years, he was one of the worst GMs in the league. But, there's no need to deny reality. There's no revisionism here: he factually acquired Petry, Suzuki and Danault and for close to nothing. Whether through luck or being an idiot savant at those moments doesn't matter. They were, in real life, acquired and played for the franchise.

It's a really dumb argument. It would be like not giving the Habs staff any credit for drafting Hutson because they passed up on him multiple times.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

That was always the main thing with him imo lol
Obviously an amazing hockey player, but always seemed like a PUNK
And surprise surprise lol
Habs and a few other teams simply just didn't like the guy
And neither do I lol, I'm beyond happy we avoided him and ended up with the better player AND person in Ivan the Great and a touted RD prospect
What fortune

And all the 'but why not both!' talk is for the birds, imagine having to constantly worry about this kid everyday and every year in the sometimes too much fun city of MTL
f*** that
I know a loser when I see one
And that kid ain't ever winning shit

So glad he's not *our* problem

You couldn’t find water if you fell out of a boat.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

And yet I have zero problem with these moves. I prefer a GM who dares vs a GM who's scared.

Just like when Bergie traded Sergachev for Drouin, it may not have worked out but it was quite daring

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I think his biggest mistake is yet to come, and his name is Mike Matheson

Hughes will give him a 40-50M extension because he is his best friend

Excited for July 1st

Until we see Hughes move on from a Quartexx guy, I won’t have full confidence that he can do his job objectively

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I’ve generally been a huge fan of Hughes. A few moves I didn’t like, but he has committed to a direction, the few swings he made that didn’t workout Dach/Newhook weren’t total disasters and they were the type of chances I want our gm to take. I wouldn’t have necessarily gone after either one, but I understand the approach. There’s too much to like to dwell on day to day transactions and nitpicking every move.

The good imo overwhelmingly outweighs the bad. The coach being the right fit is a huge swing from MB. Hughes hires MSL for young up and coming team and sets the tone right away. MB hires that disgrace of a man in Michel Therrien and sets negative vibes from the onset. The difference between the two is night and day. Hughes is humble and smart, MB was arrogant and dumb. It’s been a breath of fresh air to finally have a professional running the team.

 

[Habs Icing]

This conversation is going to get a lot more interesting in the next few months, as the roster transitions from 'Rebuilding' to 'Building'. So far, Hughes' biggest moves have involved picks and secondary assets. The most we've lost is potential.

However, we're now at the stage when we expect a winning team. That means higher stakes trades and signings. It also means losing a good roster player or two in order to acquire a necessary core player. Get ready for half our board to be pissed off at our GM for whatever big trade is coming. But that's the risk good GMs need to take – it means Hughes isn't afraid to swing big.

You spoke to his wife, didn't you?

 

[Habs Icing]

Does he and will he have the balls to do whats best for the future? He hasn't moved roster players yet and the roster for the upcoming season is essentially complete if the resign Heinemen. I wouldn't be surprised if he remains status quo but will be pleasantly surprised if he takes a big swing.

Do you mean in his tenure or this post season?

Because in his tenure he has traded a truck load of roster players.

 

[Ozmodiar]

I don't understand these posts. I've made my feelings clear on MB for years, he was one of the worst GMs in the league. But, there's no need to deny reality. There's no revisionism here: he factually acquired Petry, Suzuki and Danault and for close to nothing. Whether through luck or being an idiot savant at those moments doesn't matter. They were, in real life, acquired and played for the franchise.

Danault wasn’t lucky. MB played a big part in Chicago selecting him in the draft.

Chi - Mtl - LA