Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes expected a quiet day at the start of free agency on Saturday.
However, he was involved in one of the first transactions, trading defenceman Joel Edmundson to the Washington Capitals in exchange for draft picks.
Apart from that, Hughes signed two players expected to mainly play with the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket next winter: Philippe Maillet and Brady Keeper.
The fact that Hughes participated in a press conference about two hours after the start of free agency spoke volumes about his plans for the day.
"Our biggest concern is not blocking our young players," he said. "That is, getting a player who is 32 or 33 years old and could help us for a year or two, but would hinder the chances of a young player progressing and developing in our lineup."
Hughes created some space for Montreal’s young defencemen by trading Edmundson.
In return, the Canadiens received third-round and seventh-round draft picks in 2024. The third-round pick originally belonged to the Minnesota Wild.
Montreal will also retain 50 per cent of the 30-year-old defenceman's salary. Edmundson still has one season left on his contract at US$3.5 million.
"Joel did not request a trade. He loves Montreal. He had already mentioned in the past that being traded stressed him out," Hughes said. "When I met him last year, I told him not to worry, but that he would probably be traded before the end of his contract."
Edmundson played three seasons with the Canadiens and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
However, he was plagued by a lower-back injury in the last two seasons and was limited to 24 and 61 games respectively in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Edmundson won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
"Joel had a significant presence in our locker room," Hughes emphasized. "He had a leadership role. I told him that I hoped he left a part of himself in our locker room, that young players learned lessons from him."
There is also some congestion on the offensive side, especially if young players are promoted and given more significant roles than last season.
Hughes did not rule out a scenario in which one or two forwards were traded for picks before the start of camp in September.
Drouin joins MacKinnon
Jonathan Drouin's time on the Canadiens has officially come to an end.
Drouin took advantage of free agency to sign a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche.
The Quebec-born forward scored 48 goals and 138 assists in 321 games during his six seasons with the Canadiens, not quite living up to the expectations of fans, management or himself, as he admitted in April during the end-of-season review.
Troubled by injuries and mental health issues during the latter half of his tenure with the Canadiens, Drouin will have the opportunity to revitalize his career with the Avalanche.
He will reunite with a familiar face, as he played alongside Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon for two seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. They won the Memorial Cup together in 2013.
Along with Drouin, the Canadiens lost one of their depth players at the start of free agency as Alex Belzile accepted a two-year offer from the New York Rangers.
Belzile, a 31-year-old from Saint-Eloi, Que., recorded six goals and eight assists in 31 games last season with the Canadiens.
Hughes bolstered the Rocket by adding Maillet as a forward and Keeper on defence.
Maillet, 30, spent the last two seasons with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk, totalling 92 points in 113 games. The Lachenaie, Que., product played two games with the Capitals during the 2020-21 season.
The 27-year-old Keeper played for the Abbotsford Canucks — Vancouver’s AHL affiliate — last season, collecting one goal and five assists in 35 games. Keeper also played two NHL games with the Florida Panthers.
Hughes advocates for patience with Reinbacher
David Reinbacher faced negative comments on social media after the Canadiens selected him fifth overall in the draft on Wednesday night in Nashville.
Some fans criticized him, as they would have preferred to see the Canadiens pick a forward like Russian player Matvei Michkov.
Hughes defended the 18-year-old Austrian defenceman on Saturday.
"I don't know what you’d to tell fans that are upset, other than ‘hey listen, we’re really confident in the player that we drafted,” he said. “I would hope that they would take the time to allow him to perform on the ice and figure out what we have in terms of a player, because we think we’ve got a really good player.
"We are aware that our fans are passionate about the draft because we pick early," he added. "They were passionate last year with Shane Wright. I can't say I'm surprised. We understand that there were a lot of discussions on social media about Michkov. All we can ask is for them to be patient."
Fans were quickly charmed by Juraj Slafkovsky last year after the Canadiens chose him over Wright. Reinbacher's charm offensive will begin this week at development camp, which continues until Tuesday at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, Que.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023.
Alexis Bélanger-Champagne, The Canadian Press
