Marc Dumont
Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes met with the media on Friday afternoon, following a quiet NHL Trade Deadline that resulted in no deals for the Habs.
According to Hughes, the Canadiens did have the framework for a potential deal in place, though it fell through in the final moments of the deadline.
“We spent a lot of time on one case in particular,” he said. “And it went down to the wire, but that doesn’t stop us from revisiting it in the summer.”
Without trying to read too much between the lines, this sounds like the Habs were actively involved in trading for a player such as Robert Thomas or Vincent Trocheck, two talented centres who should still be available in trade once the regular season and playoffs are over.
When pressed for more information about the potential deal, Hughes once again pointed to the possibility that a trade may end up getting done in a few months.
“I’d love to answer, but maybe you’ll know in the summer,” he said.
As for pending unrestricted free agent Patrik Laine, Hughes suggests he won’t be a distraction moving forward, despite all the trade talk leading into the deadline.
“Patrik is part of the team like other players, he’s not a distraction,” explained Hughes. “I expect Patrik to be available to the team, depending on the decisions made by the coaches.”
If the Habs had pulled off a trade, Hughes mentioned other trade dominoes would have likely fallen as a result.
“We had some things that would have happened if we concluded the deal we were working on,” he explained. “Yes, it was a significant trade for us.”
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
As for the lack of action, Hughes reminded fans that the team had, in fact, made a few big deals earlier in the season, including the trade that saw star defenceman Noah Dobson join the Canadiens.
“I feel that one, our players are happy to be here, and they’re happy with the group,” said Hughes. “They’re not ignorant of the fact that we made significant moves since the end of last season to improve our team.
“Part of the message to the group is that we like these players, we have good hockey players, and we have good hockey players who aren’t playing.”
