The Montreal Canadiens hired longtime NHL agent Kent Hughes to be their next general manager on Tuesday. Hughes, 51, has been an agent for more than 25 years, representing Patrice Bergeron, Kris Letang and Darnell Nurse, among others.
Hughes interviewed with the Canadiens last Monday, sources confirmed to The Athletic, and met with Canadiens chief executive officer and co-owner Geoff Molson on Saturday. After deciding he wanted to change careers, Hughes negotiated his contract with the Canadiens well into Monday night, before the team announced on Tuesday.
Hughes fills the vacancy left by the firing of Marc Bergevin in November. He joins executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton in overseeing Montreal’s hockey ops.
“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,” Gorton said in a news release.
A Montreal native who grew up in Beaconsfield, Que., Hughes is the 18th GM of the Canadiens. He has been an agent for Quebec-based Quartexx Management since 2016 and represented more than 20 players at the time of his hiring by the Canadiens, the team said.
Hughes is bilingual, which Molson previously said was a qualification for the job.
Hughes will be introduced as GM at a news conference on Wednesday.
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