Canadiens fans might now wonder who Kent Hughes is

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Who is Kent Hughes?

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That’s a question that many Canadiens fans might be asking after reports that Hughes could be in line to become the team’s next general manager.

Mathias Brunet de La Presse was the first to mention Hughes’s name as a potential candidate and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet He also spoke about the Canadiens’ interest in the player agent on Saturday at Hockey Night in Canada.

During Jeff Gorton’s first press conference on Friday as the Canadiens’ new executive vice president of hockey operations, he noted that he was going to look “outside the box” in his search for a new general manager and that a players agent was a possibility.

“The person that I think they are interested in, who is an agent, is Kent Hughes, who was born in Montreal, is bilingual and is now in the Boston area,” Friedman told HNIC. “So there is a connection to Gorton so they are both there.”

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Hughes told Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports on Saturday night who hasn’t spoken to Gorton about the Canadiens’ job.

“I don’t control speculation,” Hughes said. “I had no discussions about the GM job.”

Gorton is a Massachusetts native and a former general manager of the Boston Bruins. Hughes, who grew up on the West Island of Montreal, has been living in the Boston area for more than 20 years.

When Gorton was the general manager of the New York Rangers, selected Hughes’ son Riley in the seventh round (216 overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. Hughes’s other son, Jack, He is a highly rated prospect for this year’s NHL Draft, which will take place in Montreal. Riley and Jack, both forwards, are playing at Northeastern University in Boston this season.

Growing up on the west island of Montreal, Hughes played for triple-A dwarf Lac St. Louis Lions, where he was team captain. He later played four seasons as a forward with Middlebury College in Vermont. Hughes led the team in scoring during his senior season with Middlebury, posting totals of 15-48-63 in 26 games as team captain. He was inducted into the Middlebury College Hall of Fame last year.

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Hughes’s brother Ryan he was selected by Quebec Nordiques in the second round (22nd overall) of the 1990 NHL Draft, but only played three NHL games with the Bruins. Hughes’s parents still live on the west island of Montreal.

Hugs, which is now part of Quartexx Management , who is based in Montreal, made a name for himself in the agent business by representing Quebec players, starting with Vincent Lecavalier, the number one overall pick in the 1998 NHL Draft. The Île Bizard native enjoyed from a 17-year NHL career, winning the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and the Maurice Richard Trophy in 2006-07 when he led the league with 52 goals. Lecavalier earned more than $ 114 million during his NHL career, according to CapFriendly.com .

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Hughes’ current list of clients includes Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Kris Letang and Mike Matheson of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marco Scandella of the St. Louis Blues and Sammy Blais of the New York Rangers, all born in Quebec. Hughes has 17 NHL players currently under contract, according to Puckpedia.com , including former Canadiens defender Nathan Beaulieu, now with the Winnipeg Jets. The total value of those contracts is just over $ 279 million.

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