Canadiens' Hughes still hoping to connect on home-run swing that missed at deadline

ANAHEIM, Calif.— Kent Hughes never lost sight of the big picture. Not as the arms race in the Eastern Conference proliferated right up to the final seconds before the NHL’s trade deadline hit at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT, and certainly not after he emerged 80 minutes later to explain how he came up empty-handed on this day.

“From the start, our goal was always to try to find trades that advance our principal objective, which is to build a team capable of winning over the long term,” the Montreal Canadiens’ general manager said Friday.

Hughes confirmed it’s what he spent most of his time in the leadup to the deadline doing, and that it almost resulted in something “significant” happening.

Maybe it’s just us — it probably isn’t — but we think he was better off veering in that direction than wasting his time paying absurd prices for players who might have bolstered the Canadiens’ chances of making this year’s playoffs while simultaneously cratering their chances of soon becoming the perennial contender they aim to be.

Then again, would some Canadiens fans be celebrating if Hughes had instead packaged a goaltending prospect and a middle-six roster player with first- and third-round picks for a 34-year-old centre who’s a combined minus-69 over the last four seasons and on pace for his lowest point output since his third season in the league?

Hey, the New York Islanders, who are behind the Canadiens in the standings, are getting a real one in Brayden Schenn. He’s battle tested, he’s a Stanley Cup winner, he plays a brand of hockey that’s going to help them make the playoffs and maybe even win a round.

But they’re also taking on Schenn’s $6.5-million cap hit through 2028 for just that, and likely nothing more, which is expressly the type of move the Canadiens wouldn’t allow themselves to be baited into making at this juncture.

Even if they’ve been a top-10 team for most the season. Even if they could use a bit more of the edge Schenn is known for.

Hey, he wasn’t the only player available.

But name another who got traded that would’ve moved the needle where the Canadiens wanted it to go.

Which isn’t to say Hughes wasn’t interested in acquiring some help for the here and now, or that he was averse to already doing so.

“We traded a second-round pick for Phil Danault,” he reminded.

“If there was another deal that required that type of return that we thought moved the needle for us, we would’ve done that too,” Hughes added. “But I think part of the message to the group was we like these players. We’ve got good hockey players that aren’t playing games right now for our team, so for us to add to that logjam we wanted to know if it really was meaningful enough for us to do it.”

Translation: the Canadiens didn’t think six-foot-six Michael McCarron was worth a second-round pick to them.

For an all-in team like the Minnesota Wild? Sure.

But the Canadiens are four years into a rebuild, one year into being a playoff contender, and several pieces away from being a team that can carelessly throw premium picks at fourth-line centres.

A first and a third to Toronto for five goals from Nicolas Roy? That made sense for the leading Stanley Cup-contending Colorado Avalanche, who also put together the type of package for Nazem Kadri the Canadiens wouldn’t have — even if they poked around on the 35-year-old centre who’s under contract for three more years at $7 million per.

The Canadiens were interested in bringing in some short-term help on defence, too. Particularly on the right side, and in the top four.

But not so interested as to give up a first and a third for 36-year-old pending unrestricted free agent John Carlson, like their Western Conference counterpart in Anaheim did.

The young Ducks, who are emerging on what appears to be an identical timeline to the Canadiens, were pleasantly surprised by GM Pat Verbeek on that one.

“It gives us a jump,” said Ryan Poehling on Friday morning.

Canadiens players weren’t expecting one from Hughes, nor were they clamouring for one ahead of the deadline.

“Whatever happens, happens,” captain Nick Suzuki said after confirming he wasn’t making any requests for this deadline after (successfully) urging management to keep the band together at the last one.

“I think we were able to grab Phil probably earlier than teams do for trade deadline, and he’s helped us out,” Suzuki said last Saturday. “Our cap situation’s a bit tight, so there’s not a lot of room, and we already have a lot of NHL talent.”

As Hughes pointed out, Alex Texier, who came in late November — a month before the Danault deal — and produced 16 points in his first 25 games to earn a two-year contract extension, is watching the deep Canadiens play the Ducks at Honda Centre and waiting for his next opportunity to play.

Patrik Laine, who scored 20 goals for the team last season, will be seated right next to him in the press box.

The 27-year-old Finn would’ve moved had Hughes executed the “significant” trade he was hoping to, but now he’ll work for a chance to prove he can still add something to this mix before all is said and done.

It beats sulking.

“I think the group really trusts what Kent and (president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton) have done. I think their track record up to date since they’ve taken the job, I think the group has confidence in that,” said coach Martin St. Louis. “I know we didn’t make any moves today, but we’ve made moves these past six months.”

The Canadiens sent big pieces of their future — two first-round picks and Emil Heineman — to the Islanders for Noah Dobson and then signed the 26-year-old to the biggest contract they’ve ever given a defenceman. And that was before they got then-22-year-old forward Zachary Bolduc for 22-year-old defenceman Logan Mailloux.

They were moves to add to the core of the team rather than the crust of it.

If Hughes could’ve made others that fit the bill before the deadline, he would’ve.

“I don’t want to leave the impression to our fanbase that we’re just going to keep drafting and drafting and drafting,” Hughes said after reminding that he and Gorton have sacrificed multiple first- and second-round picks since arriving four years ago. “We’re going to keep doing what we need to do to move the needle forward if we find those deals. But by the same token, we’re not going to transact just for the sake of transacting so that everybody’s happy in the moment and then next year comes around and we’re all scratching our heads that we did it.”

The GM didn’t sound regretful, even with Atlantic Division rivals Tampa, Buffalo and Detroit bringing in reinforcements in hopes of creating separation they haven’t yet fully achieved between themselves, each other and the Canadiens this season.

Hughes likes his team.

“If you look at our record since the 4 Nations last year, they’ve been a pretty good hockey team,” he said. “And I think they’re a more confident hockey team than they were at this time last year. I think that as a group they feel much more confident that — they’ve got to continue working towards making the playoffs — but this group is more confident that with a year’s experience they’re more ready for what comes.”

Of course, the Canadiens, who have outscored all but two teams in the league but allowed more goals per game than 22, need more than just confidence to get through what comes.

If there was thought to trade for pending unrestricted free agent and two-time Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky to improve the goaltending, it likely dissipated with the Panthers turning their attention to working out a new contract with him.

We’re pretty sure the “significant” deal Hughes wished he was swinging had nothing to do with goaltender Jordan Binnington, who makes more than double what Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault does and has struggled even worse this season.

He was asked at what position he was hoping to improve by making this big acquisition, and he responded: “Can’t answer that. I’d like to tell you, but maybe you’ll know come summer.”

By then, University of Michigan forward Michael Hage will have potentially made his NHL debut with Montreal.

He’s one of many promising prospects who could make an impact before long.

Hughes still has Hage and several opportunities in front of him to push the Canadiens further along directly in front of him because he didn’t lose sight of his main goal.