MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens have named player agent Kent Hughes as the NHL club’s 18th general manager.
The 51-year-old Montreal native has been an agent and partner of Quebec-based firm Quartexx Management since 2016.
Before joining the Canadiens, he represented more than 20 players under NHL contracts. His past clients included Patrice Bergeron, Kristopher Letang, Anthony Beauvillier and Darnell Nurse.
Hughes was previously affiliated with MFive Sports, which merged with Quartexx in 2016.
Hughes replaces former general manager Marc Bergevin, who was fired Nov. 28 following Montreal’s disastrous start to the 2021-22 season.
“We are very excited to add Kent Hughes to our organization. Kent is highly-respected in the hockey world, having built an excellent reputation as an NHL player agent for over 25 years now,” Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said in a statement.
He joins executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, who was hired shortly after Bergevin’s dismissal, in Montreal’s front office.
Molson previously said he envisions Gorton and Montreal’s new GM running hockey operations in complementary roles.
“The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates,” Gorton said in a statement. “Kent stood out, and we believe he is the right person to be the general manager of the Canadiens. We also believe that Kent’s experience as an agent will be a great asset to the organization.”
The Canadiens entered their game Tuesday night at Dallas in last place in the NHL overall standings with a 7-25-5 record.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2022.
The Canadian Press