There has been a lot of criticism of the Montreal Canadiens for not doing enough at the NHL Trade Deadline, given how open the Eastern Conference is. It wasn’t for lack of effort, as General Manager Kent Hughes told the media last Friday. He was in the middle of many deals that he never finished and never visited again.
“From the beginning, our goal is to find deals that advance our goal – to win for the long term,” Hughes said in French. “We spent a lot of time (working on) one deal in particular, and it came down to the last minute, but it doesn’t stop us from revisiting it in the summer. But that won’t stop us from revisiting it in the summer.”
Is The Rebuild Over For The Montreal Canadiens?
This is where the Montreal Canadiens did their damage with Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton and GM Kent Hughes running things. Just look at what they did in the NHL Draft, where they traded for Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Noah Dobson. Not to mention they took a flier from Patrik Laine in the summer of 2024. Even after the draft, they traded for Zach Bolduc, giving away a player like Logan Mailloux.
So Canadians have a plan they want to follow. There is no deviation from it because the managers may not believe that this is the season for them to run even if they are ready to win. Similar to what happened in Detroit with the Red Wings under GM Steve Yzerman.
But they not only follow the plan, but also make a season trade before the deadline. Last year, they got Alexandre Carrier. This year, they took Alexandre Texier on a trade and reacquired Phillip Danault. Again, most of their scheduled dates were already done. However, that doesn’t mean Hughes wasn’t looking to improve areas of need, with NHL-quality depth now and in the future.
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Won’t Deviate From Plan And Will Target Center
Everything the Montreal Canadiens are doing is calculated to put this team in a position to become a consistent playoff team after taking steps last season. Remember, the Canadiens played in the playoffs last season, even though the goal was to play meaningful games. Originally, Montreal was going to be sellers, but captain Nick Suzuki told Hughes that they liked the makeup of the room and didn’t want to make a move. Suzuki, along with Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, and others, brought Montreal to the playoffs.
The 2025-26 season was the year Montreal had to make the playoffs in their minds and in their plan. They could make the division title game. However, this is not a perfect team, but why risk creating more problems and holes by trying to make a big splash now? That doesn’t seem like how Montreal has been operating under this administration.
As Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period said on TSN Radio in Montreal on March 3, 2026, referring to the NHL Trade Deadline, if the price is not right, the Canadiens should not rush to make any moves.
“If they don’t see that the price is right, they won’t rush, because this player is available,” said Pagnotta. “They can follow him in the summer, or if he is removed, they can look at what their other options are at that time.”
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Want To Add But At What Cost?
Although Kent Hughes could reward this team for their success this season, what is the point of doing this if this team is on track?
“I think the message is that we are all moving in the same direction. We are growing together. We are all buying in. We have all bought into what this plan is,” continued Pagnotta. “Yes, we would like to be able to add another piece to help our chances this season, but we want to make sure that our window doesn’t just open for one or two years. We want to make sure that this is going to be a long-term thing. And I think that’s what their team is saying. And I think they are, I think the players understand that.”
While the players would like the management to make a move or two to help them this season, they understand the end goal. There are still holes in this team, but next year, The Montreal Canadiens are worth a look to reward the team.
“But I don’t know if they are still there, because I still believe that this is the team that found that hole in the front, looking for the person at the back, and there are question marks, as we know, about the stability of the goals,” said Pagnotta. “So I don’t know if they are there yet, but I would suspect in another year from now, they will probably be subscribing to that kind of mentality.”
NHL Rumors: Seasoned Players Cost Confirmation, and Montreal Canadiens Need to Gamble
Again, we know they tried to add a defender to his contract this offseason. Also, Stanley Cup Playoff teams can’t have enough quality NHL depth defensemen on the roster. Kent Hughes tried to help his front six. Whoever it was, you’d have a better chance of getting into Fort Knox than finding the gangs involved. And then, scoring? Is Jacob Fowler their guy going forward, and who do they pair him with?
So are the Montreal Canadiens sticking to their plan? Yes, it made sense to add, but at what cost? This group is looking for sustainable success, not to become a mush in the pan. Expect Montreal to do something this summer to improve their team.
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