Trade for Monahan completed one year ago: a journalist has just confirmed how much of a steal Kent Hughes made

He has a start to the season that seems to mimic last season's, when he had accumulated 17 points in 25 games before being injured for the rest of the campaign.

This season, he is one of the best players of the CH, if not the best.

As the excellent journalist Salim Nadim Valji from TSN reminds us, as of last October 27th, Monahan had accumulated more points than the combined totals of Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau.

Let's note here that the Flames literally gave this gift to the CH in order to sign these two players...

It is crazy to see that Kent Hughes got Monahan, in addition to a first-round pick in 2025, in exchange for future considerations.

Hughes even managed to convince the 29-year-old forward to come back for one more season at a very modest salary to, once again, prove that he still has a place in the NHL.

Apart from his points, the center player's overall game is excellent.

His 56.9% faceoff efficiency (on 144 occasions) and his +4 differential prove it all. See how the forward has an incredible vision of the game in the video below. He calls for the puck from Nick Suzuki well before the latter has received it on his own blade.

His utility is so great that we have to wonder if we shouldn't try to keep him long-term rather than trade him at the next trade deadline.

As reported by Bob Trask, the question is whether we want to keep him for 5 years to help the players and the team evolve or to acquire a player who could (maybe) help the team in 5 years?

In recent months, we have often said that the CH will sooner or later need to acquire a renowned veteran in order to move to the next stage of its reconstruction. Kent Hughes seems to already have this player in his ranks and could focus on another aspect to improve, such as his goalies.

It is certain that Monahan could still be fragile in the years to come, given his medical history. But just imagine if he manages to stay healthy and maintain the pace. Taking a chance with him in the medium-long term could be very rewarding!

And it seems that the main interested party greatly likes the city and the organization after having accepted a very low contract extension. Why wouldn't he agree to stay at a lower price?

One thing is for sure, Kent Hughes will have major decisions to make next March. Depending on his season, he could favor Monahan and only trade Tanner Pearson!