Kent Hughes sees his team’s season slowly but surely coming to an end, and while some supporters may see it as a failure, the Montreal Canadiens general manager is far from taking the situation that way.
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Admittedly, the Habs are much better placed in the Connor Bedard Derby than in the playoff race, and their 60 small points in the overall standings practically put them out. However, many of the organization’s young talents have been able to show their skills in the National League, including Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris. The experience gained despite the collective problems will prove valuable for the future.
This is also one of the explanations for the team’s rather modest goals in 2022-2023.
“When you have the fifth worst record, it’s hard to sit back and say it was a successful campaign. However, forming a team that would make the playoffs wasn’t part of our expectations, he explained in an interview with the Sportsnet network on the sidelines of the Bettman Circuit DGs’ annual meeting. We had to deal with an amazing number of injuries and stayed competitive. In my opinion, that was essential for our development. The advancement of our individual players and our culture here has been encouraged.
Do not give up
While some phases were more depressing than others, the team didn’t throw in the towel.
“When we had a bad holiday season and the competitiveness wasn’t there, it wasn’t a good environment for young players. However, today we have about 15 games left and we’ve had very few mediocre games, which is very positive, Hughes said. And among our group were veterans who have always believed in the game system and have been excellent leaders and role models in creating a culture of encouragement.