Canadiens: GM Kent Hughes Discusses Laine Trade Acquisition

All questions and answers have been edited for clarity

On Monday, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes spoke with members of the Montreal media. The following is a transcribed text of both question and answer periods:

Q: Just on Laine himself, obviously the circumstances of his last season going into the Player Assistance Program and coming to a place like Montreal, I'm just wondering what you kind of unearthed in your homework and your conversations with him that reassured you that you can inject this player into the culture that you've built in with the Canadiens.

A: Don Waddell was gracious enough to allow us to speak to Patrik, which Jeff, Gorton, Martin St. Louis, and I did over the weekend, to just get a better understanding of his journey to where he is today, the struggles that he's had and what he has done to put himself in a better place. We came away from that conversation, very satisfied.

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We did a lot of other homework. I don't wanna get into a lot of detail about that out of respect for Patrik and those people that we spoke to, but Patrik and Don were also gracious enough to let us speak to and consult on the medical file and just have the conversations that we felt we needed to have to be comfortable moving forward. And everybody involved came away very, very comfortable with Patrik.

We also spoke to him about Montreal and the pressure that comes with this market. And as I said, he didn't shy away from it all. In fact, I think he is looking for this type of market to come play in. And obviously, Patrik is most responsible for his own success.

Q: What can the Montreal Canadiens do to put him in the best position to succeed and make good on what is another opportunity to get back to the player that everybody thought he was when he was drafted?

A: From the outset, we've talked a lot about the culture and what we're trying to build in Montreal. How we try to treat the players and everybody who works within the organization, what we expect in return from everybody who works or plays for the Montreal Canadiens and the part that they have to do to contribute to that culture.

We spoke to Patrik about that. To me, this isn't a transaction that either he scores 40 or 50 or it's a bust; far from it. My relay to him was if he comes here ready to contribute to this team, to do everything in his power to help us get to a good place. And if that's the opportunity that he’s looking for, then, say no more.

Whether he scores 20 goals or 40 goals, his success here is not going to be defined strictly by goals. It's going to be defined by his ability to help contribute to this team and help us. We're very young and he may be young at 26, but that still makes him an elder statesman on the Montreal Canadiens. And we're hoping that as such he'll do his part to help and teach our young players.

Q: What was your biggest concern going into discussions with him, and what did he maybe say or do that convinced you he was ready for everything that comes with playing in this market?

A: Patrik commented that the things that he wanted to or felt he needed to work on weren't hockey-related, and that he's very confident in his ability as a hockey player.

One of the other things that he said repeatedly in our conversation was wanting to win, and wanting to be part of something. And I think you know by now from us, and even dating back to comments we made on Slafkovsky before we drafted him, we're looking for people that wanna be part of something, and part of what we're trying to do.

It's not for me, it's not for Jeff Gorton, it's not for Geoff Molson, it's not for any one player, it's for all of us as an organization. And Patrik left us with the impression that he wanted to be part of that.

Q: How much does the trade impact the playoff chances? Does it impact how the players see their playoff hopes?

A: Whether we make this trade or not, I think our players come in believing they have a chance to do that.

I think that more than anything else, what we've seen from our players as I touched on is even in our last two games of the year, Detroit's fighting for their playoff lives and our guys go out and continue to give it their all because they're proud and because they believe that every game is building towards the future.

He has two years on his contract. We had a goal of continuing to improve our offense and we did that to some degree in the draft, but that wasn't necessarily immediate help. And Patrik gives us that potential.

Q: What is it about your organization now that gives you confidence that you're able to do that with these players?

A: I think first and foremost, our locker room. And that they're credit to our coaching staff, to our entire organization. It starts from the top with Geoff Molson.

It really starts from the top that we have an environment here where people feel like they're part of something, they feel valued, they understand that being part of something means you have responsibility that comes with it. Ultimately, more than anything else, that comes from our coaching staff and having good people who want to be part of a team with good leadership.

Q: With Jordan Harris involved in the trade, does opening up space on the blueline mean you want players like Lane Hutson, and Logan Mailloux to get NHL reps?

A: Well, it's hard to say that anything's a priority without them playing and earning it. So I think as a threshold issue that they have to show that they're deserving of being in the National Hockey League but it is important to us to be in a position if they demonstrate that to give them an opportunity instead of having them relegated to the American Hockey League irrespective of their play because we don't have room.

Q: Who are you most looking forward to seeing Laine play with or seeing the benefits of that skill and how he will blend with your current guys?

A: I'll leave that to the coaching staff to figure out. I suspect throughout an 82 game, I suspect at different points in time, it's by injury or struggles that there'll be different combinations.

I generally get more excited about really good offensive players allowing the rest of the group to learn certain things from them. It sometimes happens in practice or maybe more often in practice. But I'm a believer that really good offensive players help other players become better.

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