Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes Got Full Value At Trade Deadline

The Montreal Canadiens have made it through yet another trade deadline and it came with a couple of big trades this season.

We have seen years where the team more or less stands pat and does next to nothing. We have also seen this at times when they should probably have been desperately scrambling to go out and add scoring, but a lack of action was not a problem at this year's trade deadline.

In fact, general manager Kent Hughes made two significant trades leading up to the cutoff, and he got full value in each deal.

The first big trade Hughes pulled off was the Sean Monahan deal. There was significant talk this season about whether or not the Canadiens would get a first round pick for Monahan, and Hughes did in early February when he shipped him to the Winnipeg Jets.

When it came closer to the deadline, the offers for these types of players seemed to be going down. While Adam Henrique did get a first round pick for the Anaheim Ducks, they had to retain half his salary and get a third party involved to take on some money as well. They also included fourth line center Sam Carrick in the deal in order to get that first round pick.

We also saw better scorers like Tyler Toffoli traded on deadline day, but he did not land a first round pick in return, instead netting the New Jersey Devils second and third round picks after scoring 26 goals in 61 games this season.

Even Jake Guentzel, the top player on the market, did not go for a first round pick on deadline day. He was traded the night before, and the Carolina Hurricanes gave up a handful of decent prospects, but none of their best, as well as a conditional second round pick that only become a first if they make the Stanley Cup Final.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens grabbed their first round pick a month early and didn't have to sweat it out.

They were much more patient when it came to the goaltending market. Jake Allen was one of the last players traded before time was up even though he would have been considered one of the most likely players to be dealt. The Canadiens simply needed to free up their three goalie logjam and after Sam Montembeault signed his three year contract extension, it was clearly time to move Allen.

Hughes waited until the final minutes and was able to secure a third round pick, that can become a second round pick if Allen plays 40 games next season and the Devils make the playoffs. This for a goalie who has a 3.65 goals against average and a .892 save percentage.

Hughes was aggressive in trading Monahan and patient in his trade of Allen. By doing so he read the market for both players perfectly and got full value in both trades that needed to happen this season.