Kent Hughes’ Best Quotes From Post-Deadline Press Conference

Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes spoke to the press once the 3PM trade deadline past. He offered up some juicy quotes regarding a few key topics. Here are the best ones we’ve picked up.

• When Kent Hughes was asked about the transition between being a player agent and a General Manager, rival GM’s were quick to tease him.

• Artturi Lehkonen wasn’t openly available. The last time Kent Hughes spoke about him he did mention however that the team would listen to the best deal available but it was unlikely a trade would be completed. That obviously changed. He claimed “The plan was to keep Lehkonen. That changed in the early afternoon.”

• No comment was available regarding Brett Kulak because at the time, the league had yet to approve the trade. Hughes then reaffirmed that Ben Chiarot was going to be traded. Regarding Jeff Petry, he also repeated his comments and said “We’re going to try. We’ll see.”
• When asked if there were other trades that could have happened, Hughes remained open saying that he made and received calls on players that are still part of the team.

• Earlier in the day, the Arizona Coyotes made a trade involving Winnipeg’s Bryan Little’s contract. Fans were reminded of Kent Hughes claiming the Canadiens were looking into trading to trade Shea Weber’s contract in order to alleviate cap space. That apparently came close to happening.

• After the press conference, Kent Hughes gave an interview with Alain Crête from RDS. He spoke about Justin Barron and gave high praise to the newly acquired defenceman. He says that Barron will have the chance to practice and eventually play with the Canadiens this season.

• On trading Andrew Hammond: Hughes claims that Andrew Hammond deserves a chance to play in the NHL, which is the reason he was traded.

• Brett Kulak is from Stony Plain, a suburb of Edmonton. Kent Hughes worked hard to send Kulak as close to home as possible, out of respect. Something Kulak and his dad both appreciated.

https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/1506051493341937664?s=20&t=zL-f8nqg_l24_l6fws_PeQ

What’s most interesting about the way Kent Hughes is conducting business is that he settles on a price and won’t veer from it. Also, it’s clear that the former player agent really respects the players as a person and not just as a hockey player.