Montreal Canadiens
Canadiens Set to Sign Critical Contract Extensions, Looking for Trade
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are reshaping the Canadiens, and ownership wants to extend them to keep building out the team.
The Montreal Canadiens are working to get two key contracts signed, but they aren’t for players who will make an on-ice impact. According to multiple sources, including Renaud Lavoie, the club has begun discussions on contract extensions for vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes, both entering the final year of their deals.
Since their arrivals in late 2021 and early 2022, respectively, Gorton and Hughes have reshaped the organization’s direction, and the duo has worked to make the Canadiens one of the NHL’s most exciting young teams. Gorton replaced Marc Bergevin as EVP, who then hired Hughes from the player-agent world. Together, they’ve become one of the more dynamic duos in hockey, making smart and savvy moves and calculated risks, most of which have paid off.
The Canadiens have an emerging roster with a core locked into solid deals. Among the keys to their success have been the progression of Nick Suzuki as a player and captain, as well as the emergence of Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, and Kaiden Guhle. They also have one of the game’s flashiest new stars in Ivan Demidov.
Acquisitions such as Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook haven’t necessarily panned out as hoped, but they were smart bets that haven’t hamstrung the team. They also recently added Noah Dobson via trade from the New York Islanders to speed up their rebuild.
For the Canadiens, ownership wants to keep this team intact, ensuring that the progress continues and continuity remains.
What Comes Next for Montreal
Extending Gorton and Hughes tells the team this is the leadership group they believe in. It also sets the stage for the next phase of roster building. Hughes and Gorton won’t be afraid to know they’ve got the backing of ownership to continue making bold moves.
What they’ll be searching for now is a second-line center and could use their young depth or accumulated draft picks to address that need. Hughes spoke today with the media and said he’s not done building out the roster for the season. “If we have to overpay to do something to get a specific player… we’ll do it.”
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