Habs sign Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to five-year extensions

After signing Lane Hutson to a long-term deal on Monday, Kent Hughes received one for himself.  The Canadiens announced Tuesday that they’ve signed Hughes and Jeff Gorton to five-year contract extensions.  Team owner Geoff Molson released the following statement:

“I am very pleased that Jeff and Kent have committed to the Montreal Canadiens for an additional five years. Their commitment to building a world class organization has been unrelenting and will only get better as we progress in the years to come. I would like to thank Jeff and Kent for taking this team and organization to where it is today, full of talent, size and speed with a support structure that is second to none, an objective from day one. I look forward to many more years working with them.”

Gorton joined the Habs back in November 2021 following the departure of Marc Bergevin, giving Montreal an experienced front office member with which to try to rebuild the organization, not only on the ice but also off it.  Under his tenure, several additions were made to the scouting department while also building their first-ever analytics department.

His efforts were also recognized by an official change in title as he was promoted to President of Hockey Operations.  While he largely had been filling that role since he joined the team, Molson held that title until now with Gorton serving as the titular VP of Hockey Ops.

Of course, Gorton’s most notable move came a couple of months after being hired when he hired Hughes as GM.  While there was certainly some risk in bringing in someone with no front office experience to serve in that role, his experience as an agent certainly helped mitigate that.

Over the past several seasons, Hughes has negotiated several long-term deals with core pieces on the Canadiens with the general takeaway each time being that the player left a bit of money on the table to give the team a better chance to win.  He’ll now have the chance to fully execute that plan with an extra five years left on his deal.

Last season, the Habs made it back to the playoffs – somewhat surprisingly – with the youngest roster in the modern era to do so.  It was a sign that their rebuild is going in the right direction, a feeling clearly shared by Molson with these commitments.