Kent Hughes made a very risky decision and went all-in

Now that the dust has settled, let's revisit the significant decisions made by Kent Hughes in the past week.

Many have claimed that Kent Hughes lacked "guts" in the last NHL draft by not selecting young Matvei Michkov.

It was suggested that the GM could have taken a bolder, more daring pick that would undoubtedly pay off by acquiring an immensely talented player that the organization has not seen in ages. But is that really the case?

From what we can observe, Kent Hughes not only has "guts," but he possesses a tremendous amount of it. Here's why...


Make no mistake, Kent Hughes and his team are fully aware of the risk they took by choosing David Reinbacher instead of Matvei Michkov.

If a fan who has never seen Michkov play knows he is a talented player, imagine how well-informed an NHL executive is. It is certain that even if Hughes hasn't seen him play in person or to a significant extent, he is aware of Michkov's talent and what he can bring to a team.

Therefore, the GM is well aware that if, in a few years, Michkov dominates the NHL while Reinbacher turns out to be just a good defenseman, he will face strong criticism. Depending on the team's performance, his future as the Canadiens' general manager may even be compromised.

Some also believe that the Habs tried to avoid the media storm that would have ensued with the selection of the young Russian forward. The Canadiens would have been afraid to address the geopolitical and personal questions surrounding the young man. To those individuals, we can say that the storm is far worse for not choosing him than it would have been for selecting him, and Hughes was well aware of that.

The executives were fully aware that this non-selection would create discontent among the media and especially the fans. The honeymoon period that the Gorton/Hughes duo had since their arrival with the club would possibly come to an end. Nevertheless, they disregarded all that and stuck with their initial idea by selecting who they believed was the best player for their organization.

Being aware of all this and still having the audacity not to choose Michkov is not due to a lack of "guts" or courage on Hughes' part because, evidently, he possesses more than you might think.

Moreover, considering that Michkov apparently wanted to choose his future NHL team (he reportedly refused to join the Arizona Coyotes) and his attitude is questionable, it becomes clearer why the Canadiens passed on him. In fact, if we consider that Michkov is the second-best talent in this draft behind Connor Bedard, five teams, including the Canadiens, could potentially regret not selecting him.

Kent Hughes made a monumental decision, but don't believe that he took the easy way out.