Kent Hughes Officially Pulls Off a Robbery: His Best Trade Has Been Confirmed

Let's remember that at the time, this transaction clearly did not have unanimous support among Montreal fans. After all, the former number 26 of the Tricolore was the quarterback of the power play, having notably reached the 40-point plateau four times in his last five seasons.

For his part, although Mike Matheson was recognized for his offensive skills, the Quebec defenseman had surpassed the 30-point mark only once in his career. Moreover, his personal best was only 31 points in 74 games, a tally obtained that same season with the Penguins.

However, the General Manager of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge had evaluated the situation very well. Jeff Petry was slowly starting to regress, wanting in particular to leave Montreal to join his wife in the United States. Moreover, despite his high potential at the time of his selection, Ryan Poehling had already reached his ceiling within the organization, that of a fourth-line player.

As for Mike Matheson, even if his statistics were not incredible, he was increasingly establishing himself as a top defenseman in the NHL. Relegated behind Kristopher Letang, he just needed a new opportunity to explode and demonstrate the full extent of his talent, which he has done since his arrival with the Canadiens.

Indeed, at the time of writing these lines, the number 8 of the CH has amassed an impressive total of 43 points in 58 games, thus heading towards a 61-point season. As for Jeff Petry, his best tally with the Canadiens was 46 points, and he claims a modest total of 17 points in 48 games this year.

Wow! What a steal by Kent Hughes!

In addition to having obtained a younger defenseman with a much better offensive performance, the Canadiens were also able to select Bogdan Konyushkov with the fourth-round pick from the Penguins. The 21-year-old excels in the KHL currently, being one of the most used defensemen in the league. He notably recorded 6 goals and 22 assists (28 points) in 64 games with Torpedo this season.

Meanwhile, Jeff Petry is struggling in Detroit, sometimes even being scratched from the lineup. Let's just say that Kent Hughes made quite a move with this transaction, which will certainly help the organization in the long term.

Credit: Habs et LNH