The Kent Hughes deal that fell apart at the deadline but could be revisited this summer
David Pagnotta says the Montreal Canadiens were inches from a big trade and a right-shot defenseman, and it's the kind of miss that sticks with you.
Kent Hughes admitted he was on one «significant» deal until the final minutes, and he openly hinted it could be revisited in the summer.
That lines up with Pagnotta's read that a lot of deadline work this year was really offseason groundwork.
The frustrating part is Montreal didn't land the one thing the blue line screams for, a steady RHD with term.
Pagnotta also says the Habs were «very close» on that right-shot defenceman, with terms essentially set before the other team pulled out.
Here's the tweet that summed it up from the DFO Rundown chatter.
Now the Knies angle. Pagnotta doesn't believe Matthew Knies was the mystery forward Montreal was chasing, even with his name floating around deadline week.
Knies is exactly the kind of player fans daydream about anyway, a power winger who can live in a top-six and not blink in big minutes.
He's sitting at 16-35-51 this season, and he's already on a big-ticket deal with a $7.75M cap hit running through 2030-31.
David Pagnotta keeps Montreal Canadiens summer pressure high
Habs fans can feel the familiar mix of hope and annoyance, because «close» doesn't fix anything when the goals against keep piling up.
Montreal's record is still strong at 35-18-10, but the defensive cracks are real and the margins tighten fast once the games turn nasty.
That's why the right-shot defenseman detail matters more than the mystery forward gossip.
If Hughes circles back in the summer, it screams two tracks at once: add a legit top-line piece, and stop forcing the left side to play on its off-hand.
The best clue is the «signed beyond this season» part, because that's not a rental swing.
So yeah, keep Knies in the rumor blender if you want, but the smarter bet is Montreal shopping for a controllable forward and a stabilizer for the right side of the blue line.
Either way, the next milestone isn't talk radio. It's draft-week phone calls, and whether Hughes finally turns all this groundwork into a real roster upgrade.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 11|22 ANSWERS The Kent Hughes deal that fell apart at the deadline but could be revisited this summer Should Kent Hughes prioritize a right-shot defenseman this summer? | ||
| Yes | 16 | 72.7 % |
| No | 6 | 27.3 % |
| List of polls | ||