The Montreal Canadiens are working on contract extensions for general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice president Jeff Gorton, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Gorton’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, while Hughes is signed through the 2026-27 season, per reports from Sportsnet.
The duo has led Montreal down the course of a rapid rebuild, from the point of three last-place finishes in the Atlantic Division to a surprise playoff bid at the end of last season. That surge has been entirely driven by the additions Hughes has made to the Canadiens lineup. Emerging star defenseman Lane Hutson and 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky – both brought in by Hughes – ranked third and fourth on the team in scoring last season. Hutson even earned the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, after becoming just the second rookie defender to ever reach 60 assists. One of the two players to outscore the young stars was top winger Cole Caufield, who Hughes inked to a lucrative eight-year, $62.8MM contract extension in the summer of 2023.
Solidifying the core pieces of a lineup capable of a playoff push would be enough to earn any rookie GM a new deal. But it’s Hughes’ brazen confidence in making moves that’s truly stood apart from the rest. He continued to make notable additions throughout this summer, on the heels of a big year. Hughes acquired top defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders in June, and acquired former first-round pick Zachary Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues on the heels of a 19-goal season. Both additions could have major ramifications on the Canadiens’ lineup next season. Dobson – who posted 70 points in the 2023-24 season – should find a comfortable role at the top of Montreal’s depth chart; while Bolduc will offer a reliable goal-scoring punch from the third-line.
Hughes’ sheer confidence is most readily apparent in the draft. He’s already landed a draft-day steal for the ages in the young Hutson, who fell to 62nd-overall in 2022 despite being lauded as a first-round talent to many public scouts. Hughes also drafted highly-acclaimed goalie prospect Jacob Fowler, NHL legacy centerman Aatos Koivu, and highly-skilled but undersized dynamo L.J. Mooney in the middle-rounds of the last three drafts. He also landed superstar Russian scorer Ivan Demidov with the fifth-overall pick in 2024. Many fans have already questioned how Demidov slipped to the end of the top-five, and he’ll be a front-runner for the Calder Trophy this season, after posting 49 points in 65 KHL games last summer.
No matter how the 2025-26 season goes, it seems hard to deny that Montreal is headed for a bright future. The Canadiens’ roster is expected to enter the season with the youngest average age in the league after having the second-youngest team last year. Despite that, they’ll be popular underdog candidates to break into the postseason once again next summer. A big year out of Hutson, Demidov, and even AHL starter Fowler could go far in showing Hughes what pieces he’ll be working with throughout the next decade. Then, a hardy extension from the Montreal ownership will ensure he stays connected to what he’s built. So long as they stay at the helm, Hughes and Gorton will face the difficult task of extending Hutson, Kirby Dach, and Patrik Laine among others next summer.