Stu Cowan: Refreshing candour marks start of Hughes era with Canadiens

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There’s a difference between transparency and openness.

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After the Canadiens finished the 2017-18 season in 28th place in the overall NHL standings with a 29-40-13 record, team owner/president Geoff Molson promised things would get better on and off the ice.

“I want to be in a position to give as much information as we possibly can, so that the debates that people have about our organization are as legitimate as possible,” Molson said at the time. “I’m not accusing anyone. I’m just saying the more we give and the more transparent we can be, the better off, the happier our fans will be.”

The Canadiens never really did become more transparent with Marc Bergevin as GM. He loved to keep his cards close to the vest and at the end of his 10-season tenure he was hand-picking which media members he would speak with and there was a lack of honesty from the team about it.

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A GM can’t be truly transparent because he has to keep some things secret in order to do his job properly. But he can be open when speaking about his plans for him and that’s exactly what Kent Hughes has done since he was hired last month to replace Bergevin. Chantal Machabée, who was hired away from RDS to become the Canadiens’ new vice-president of communications, has also been very open and honest.

Hughes has spoken one-on-one with just about every media outlet in the city and has been open about his plans without revealing everything.

On Wednesday, Hughes answered questions for 30 minutes during a video conference and apologized for not making himself available two days earlier after trading Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames. Hughes was in Boston at the time and said his trade call with the Flames didn’t end until around 1 pm and he had to be at the Beanpot university tournament final by 3 pm

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“My focus is communicating with the players and making sure that Tyler had been called and thanked,” Hughes said. “I didn’t want him to learn about (the trade) from anybody other than me and then I wanted to speak to Tyler Pitlick and I wanted to speak to Emil Heineman (two players acquired in the deal) and make sure they understood that we were excited to have them be part of the team.

“Especially Emil, given he’s a second-round pick (of the Florida Panthers in 2020) who hasn’t signed a pro contract yet. He’s been traded twice. I wanted him to understand that certainly in our case that was a reflection of us insisting he be part of the trade as opposed to him just being somebody that’s tossed in in trade after trade. So I think communication will be an important part of what we do here to make players feel comfortable and not just see their management team above looking down upon them.”

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Brendan Gallagher said communication is the biggest thing players look for from a GM.

“I had one really good talk with Kent and a couple of other ones,” Gallagher said. “You trust that he has a really good understanding. Everything he says makes a lot of sense. He has a plan, he has a vision, he has an idea and he understands our group. There’s a lot of positivity around there and the things that he notices seem to be similar to the experiences that we had gone through. A very capable, smart hockey mind. He understands the game, understands our team. To get to what we want, we all want the same thing and that’s to win.”

Hughes has his work cut out for him trying to rebuild the worst team in the NHL and more moves will be made before the March 21 NHL trade deadline and during the off-season. Hughes said he understands players can be anxious, adding he will tell them what he can in the moment while assuring them his door is always open to talk.

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He’s not planning to have a fire sale and trade five more players before March 21, but said if teams make him offers he can’t refuse for five players he’ll make five trades. The GM added that Ben Chiarot, who can become an unrestricted free agent during the off-season, could be traded today, tomorrow or in two weeks, depending on when the “right deal” can be made. If a deal can be made for disgruntled defenseman Jeff Petry that works for both teams, Hughes will do it, but he’s not in a rush to make it happen.

“As we move through this process, we will continue to communicate with our players about our desire to build a team,” Hughes said. “We’re not looking to totally dismantle this and try to get the first overall pick in each of the next two years. So they’re going to be made aware of it, they’re going to see the investments that we’re making in improving this team, improving everything about it.”

Some major improvements off the ice have already been made.

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