Kent Hughes spoke of the “first day of a great adventure”. Will it be an easy and harmonious quest? Nothing is less sure.
Posted at 7:31 p.m.
The new general manager of the Montreal Canadiens spoke for the first time to members of the media in the metropolis on Wednesday.
As his hiring is only 48 hours old, no one was surprised that he did not lend himself to a long and exhaustive description of the shortcomings of the club he inherited. The next few days and weeks, he warned, will be used to tame the entire organizational structure and get to know his new employees, in the offices and on the ice.
But he nevertheless gave some broad outlines of his intentions.
There’s a lot to do, he agreed, as he’s offered the chance to “draw a new blueprint” for the Canadiens.
Might as well get rid of it right away: yes, the “R” word has been uttered… without, however, being attached to a clear commitment. “Reconstruction, re-equipment [retool], reset, the choice of words doesn’t matter to me, confessed the ex-agent. I want a team capable of winning for several years. Not for next year, not for two years, not just once. »
Might as well say he’s in no hurry. That he wants to do things well rather than do them quickly.
“I would never have accepted a job where the work is already done,” he added. The team is counting on “very interesting pieces” around which to “build”. “Exciting young players like Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield”, but also veterans – he did not name any, however.
Modernity
Hughes was flanked by Jeff Gorton, executive vice-president of hockey operations for the Canadiens, and Geoff Molson, owner and president of the organization. For 45 minutes, they responded to reporters in both official languages. The CEO also expressed himself with great ease in the language of Albert Millaire.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes and Geoff Molson
Unsurprisingly, it was towards him that the majority of questions were directed. And a theme came up a few times during his speaking turns: that of modernity.
He wants to “create a modern organization that players want to be part of”. With Dominique Ducharme, he wishes to discuss and submit his “ideas on the qualities” that a “modern-day coach” should possess.
Jeff Gorton said he appreciated his unconventional thinking. Hughes was amused, before clarifying his thoughts.
“A long time ago in Philadelphia, Ron Hextall [directeur général des Flyers de 2014 à 2018] told me: “We are in an industry where we buy high to sell low.” We have to find a way to avoid this approach. »
The heart of the response to this issue obviously involves a fair evaluation of the players. Another element on which he insisted: we will not hesitate to require advanced statistics and state-of-the-art analysis methods to achieve this.
“It’s not just a matter of gathering information, but knowing how to use it well,” explained Hughes. With the development staff, you have to find a way to assess a player and help them improve rather than just determining that they are no longer good enough. »
He wants all departments – operations, analytics, development, coaching – to work together in order to get “the most out of everyone”.
He would like this observation to apply to the hockey portion of his duties, but also to the entire management chain. In his eyes, the good general managers of the league “have a plan and have the patience not to react only in the short term”.
“They have an integrated vision for the organization,” he added. A good eye for talent, but also for managing people. »
“I don’t think the team that wins the Stanley Cup is necessarily the one with the most talented players,” he said. There is an organizational culture to be established, a feeling that everyone is going in the same direction. I want to create an environment where everyone contributes to what we win together. »
hockey junkie
His 25 years as a player’s agent led him to deal with the 32 organizations of the NHL. By his own observations, but also thanks to those of his customers, he filled his notebook with elements that he would like to reproduce and others that he would like to avoid. He has “always been curious” about the management of major sports franchises, and he will spend the next few days taking the pulse of all his new internal colleagues, “not just to tell them my plan, but to find out what what they love and what they miss”.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Kent Hughes
Negotiation is not his only strength, he said. Of course, he knows “how a player thinks, how an agent thinks”, which will be an advantage for his new employer. But above all, he describes himself as “a hockey junkie”, who has always been interested in recruiting, developing players and their skills, training. “My wife would tell you that when I’m not working, I talk about hockey. »
Hughes and Gorton will join the team in Vegas, where CH will face the Golden Knights on Thursday night. Even if we want to give ourselves the time to do things well, some decisions will be more pressing than others, with the deadline for transactions scheduled for March 21.
“We have two months,” confirmed the newcomer.
Two months in the life of a team is sometimes a long time: ask the Canadiens players to tell you about their current season. But that can pass very quickly when it comes to laying the foundations for a real long-term vision.