Newly minted Habs GM Kent Hughes says he envisions an 'offensive-minded' hockey team

Making his first public appearance since being hired by the team earlier this week, the Montreal Canadiens' new general manager gave some insight into the vision he has in mind for the troubled team. 

"In a perfect world, we'd be an offensive-minded hockey club," Kent Hughes, a Montreal native, said Wednesday during a news conference at the Bell Centre on his second day on the job. 

The team hired Hughes, the Habs's 18th general manager, Tuesday after the firing of former GM Marc Bergevin last November following a sloppy start to the 2021-22 season. Hughes signed a five-year contract.

Asked what style of play he envisions for the team going forward, Hughes said he wants to see "a team that plays fast, but plays fast with the puck."

"I don't think you can be successful in the National Hockey League today without being a defensively responsible team. But we see teams in the National Hockey League -- I think all of us can identify some -- where the focus is strictly defensive and others that are more creative," he said.

"I envision a team that plays fast with the puck, a possession hockey team, but I also understand that you have to build a team around the players that you have and that's going to be a process for us here as we move forward." 

The 51-year-old addressed the media during a news conference Wednesday alongside Canadiens owner Geoff Molson and the team's executive vice-president, Jeff Gorton.

Hughes called it a treasure to work in Montreal and said he was proud to work on a team he looked up to during his childhood.

“This is the first day of a great adventure,” he said at the Bell Centre Wednesday, adding that he knows that the team is in need of a new strategy to turn its luck around.

“We have challenges, there's no question. The team is not where we had hoped it would be or the Canadiens hoped it would be at this point in time. My opinion is some of that is circumstance, but there's no question that there needs to be changes,” he explained.

“I've got to get familiar with Jeff. We've got to spend a lot of time together here over the next five to seven days and start to discuss what steps need to be taken.”

'NOT MY BEST FRIEND'

In a rather candid exchange Wednesday, Gorton wanted to clear the air about his previous relationship with the new general manager, telling reporters that he's known Hughes for about 20 years, but, “No offence, but Kent is not my best friend."

“He's got some impressive hockey players and a nice daughter and I know Dina, I've met his wife, once or twice. But best friend — no. I just admired him as a hockey person,” Gorton added.

“I would always talk to him about what was going on in his side of the world and I just trusted his opinion. And that's how we built, you know, somewhat of a professional relationship over the years.”

Hughes grew up on Montreal's West Island suburb of Beaconsfield and has been living in the Boston area for the past two decades. He's been in the hockey business for more than 25 years and was one of three candidates short-listed for the general manager position out of 11 total candidates. 

A self-described “hockey junkie,” Hughes said he’s known by his family as a man who lives and breathes Canada’s favourite sport and said he’s ready for the “excitement” to go from a behind-the-scenes agent to a public-facing leader for the team. 

He said he needs more time to work closely with the Habs and get to know the players better before unveiling more details about the future strategy for the team, but he did say his goal is to find a way for the team to win in the long term. 

Hughes was previously affiliated with MFive Sports, which merged with Quartexx in 2016. He is part of the Quebec-based firm: Quartexx Management.