Montreal Canadiens Name Kent Hughes As New GM

The Montreal Canadiens have named NHL player agent Kent Hughes as the 18th general manager in team history and signed him to a five-year contract.

“We are very excited to add Kent Hughes to our organization. Kent is highly-respected in the hockey world, having built an excellent reputation as an NHL player agent for over 25 years now,” Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson in a press release Tuesday morning.

“The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates. Kent stood out, and we believe he is the right person to be the general manager of the Canadiens. We also believe that Kent’s experience as an agent will be a great asset to the organization,” executive vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton added.

Hughes, Gorton, and Molson will address the media on Wednesday.

The Canadiens were the first to announce the hiring on their Twitter feed:

Kent Hughes has been named the 18th general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/2AHFwCJB8B

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 18, 2022

Per TSN and Athletic Insider Pierre LeBrun, Hughes wasn’t part of the initial wave of interviews for the Habs’ open GM spot but did interview for the job on January 10. Many have reported that he became one of the final three candidates, along with Tampa Bay Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche and Director of Operations for the Maine Mariners (ECHL) Daniel Briere over the weekend.

Prior to signing as the new Montreal Canadiens general manager, Hughes had 19 active NHL players on his client list, including some notable Quebec-born players: Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. He also represented former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier who was drafted first overall at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Hughes earned his law degree from Boston College in 1996 and before becoming an agent, he played collegiately at Middlebury College. While Hughes has been a longtime resident of Massachusetts, he grew up on the West Island (Beaconsfield), and he is also an alum and former captain of the midget triple-A Lac St-Louis Lions.