On Thursday morning, Kent Hughes appeared before the media to discuss the deal that sent Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers. We understand that the new GM had in mind to trade the veteran defenseman as soon as he arrived with the CH.
With this transaction, Hughes proved to other GMs that he will not deviate from his plan. In addition to trading Chiarot, as he had wanted, he got exactly the price he wanted in the first place, a first round pick in 2023, and the certainty that this pick will not be protected.
Many believe, however, as Pierre LeBrun mentions, that the Panthers overpaid to get the veteran defenseman. That doesn't take anything away from Hughes, who didn't flinch and managed to get one of Chiarot's contending GMs to give in to Bill Zito.
It will be interesting to see how Hughes does in his upcoming trades. You can tell by looking at his first two bigs, though, that he's managed to maximize his return.
Hughes will have to be careful though, he will have to be able to put water in his wine so that he doesn't have a reputation in the league for being intransigent. A good relationship with his counterparts is much better than winning a trade or two. Time will tell how he will behave!
