Hughes Made a Mistake With a Canadiens Acquisition Says Bélanger, and Utah Is Now Benefiting
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Since taking over as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Kent Hughes really hasn't made many mistakes.
We can think of the trade for Justin Barron (in exchange for Artturi Lehkonen), but he immediately made up for it with the acquisition of Alexandre Carrier.
We can think of the trade for Kirby Dach, but at the time I believe everyone agreed that it was a solid transaction.
We don't know what the future holds for Dach, but acquiring a big 6-foot-4 center with tremendous upside was worth the risk.
However, according to Éric Bélanger, Kent Hughes did in fact make a rare mistake with the acquisition of forward Juraj Slafkovsky.
Éric Bélanger believes Kent Hughes made a mistake acquiring Juraj Slafkovsky: he would have taken Logan Cooley
Here's his exact statement, as reported by the excellent Marco Normandin.
"Everyone says to be patient with Juraj Slafkovsky.
I'm not a fan of Slaf.
I won't hide it, for sure Logan Cooley would have been my choice.
When we talk about Hockey IQ, he's better, he has more skills, and he's a better skater.
Yes, Slaf is bigger, but how much would you give him out of 5 for his hockey IQ?"
- Éric Bélanger
I'm not a fan of Slaf.
I won't hide it, for sure Logan Cooley would have been my choice.
When we talk about Hockey IQ, he's better, he has more skills, and he's a better skater.
Yes, Slaf is bigger, but how much would you give him out of 5 for his hockey IQ?"
- Éric Bélanger
Today, it is indeed the Utah Mammoth who benefit from Logan Cooley's services, and they are extremely happy about it.
And you, what's your opinion on this?
We obviously recall that at the time, during the 2022 Draft, everyone expected Shane Wright to be selected by the Canadiens.
Shane Wright, 21 years old, collected 44 points in 79 games last season.
Juraj Slafkovsky, 21 years old, collected 51 points in 79 games last season.
Logan Cooley, 21 years old, collected 65 points in 75 games last season.
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