A Winning Habit
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Habs Trade Deadline Takeaways

By Sebastian Valasek

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JULY 07: Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes and head coach Martin St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens talk prior to Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 07, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JULY 07: Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes and head coach Martin St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens talk prior to Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 07, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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2. Kent Hughes is Inscrutible

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 28: Denis Gurianov #25 of the Montreal Canadiens shoots on goal against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center on February 28, 2023 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 28: Denis Gurianov #25 of the Montreal Canadiens shoots on goal against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center on February 28, 2023 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Whether it be by setting up smoke screens about Joel Edmundson or announcing the acquisition of a young Russian forward that nobody saw coming, Hughes’ approach to the NHL media jungle is clearly one of avoidance and/or manipulation. No one knew whether Juraj Slafkovsky or Shane Wright was to be a Hab up until the moment he was on stage, and people barely knew that Denis Gurianov was coming to the Canadiens by the time he buried one on the Los Angeles Kings. Although his long-term vision for the team is abundantly clear in his interviews and in the moves he’s made, our GM will never telegraph exactly what is coming next.

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