Gary Bettman Praises The Work of Kent Hughes & Jeff Gorton

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have done some quick work in setting the Montreal Canadiens in the right direction, earning the praise of league commissioner Gary Bettman along the way.

Since the dup officially took over together back in mid-January, the Canadiens have taken an out-of-the-box approach to reformat the organization and set it up for success.

The out-of-the-box hiring of Martin St. Louis as head coach, the trading of veterans like Tyler Toffoli, Arturri Lehkonen, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Shea Weber and Brett Kulak, the bolstering of the developmental team and the significant investment in analytics have all been steps taken by this group to set the club on the right path.

It hasn’t been an immediate fix, something Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton warned wasn’t in the cards, but they’re laying the groundwork to turn the Canadiens into a team that is better equipped to succeed in this era of the NHL.

Canadiens fans have praised most of the work Hughes has done, posting a wave of “W” whenever he executes a trade or roster move. However, at a press conference on Thursday to promote Kraft Hockeyville in Gander, Newfoundland, it was the NHL commissioner who praised the work the duo have been doing in Montreal.

“He and Kent Hughes have done a great job. I think Jeff really focused on the changes that this franchise needed to be more competitive and I think they’ve been pushing all the right buttons,” said Bettman. “And I think Geoff Molson had the vision to try something a little bit different that seems to be working extraordinarily well.”

The Montreal Canadiens may not be headed toward a successful season as a team in a very competitive Atlantic Division, but the culture change and philosophy shift have many feeling confident in the future of the Montreal Canadiens moving forward.

uote taken from The Gazette)