Montreal Canadiens hire Kent Hughes as general manager

The Montreal Canadiens have found their general manager.

The Canadiens announced on Tuesday that Kent Hughes, a player agent and shareholder with Quartexx Management, has been named the 18th general manager in franchise history. The team also announced that Hughes’ contract is for five years.

The Habs fired Marc Bergevin on Nov. 28 and hired Jeff Gorton shortly after to serve as the team’s Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. The goal for Gorton was to hire a general manager, one who was fluent in French and could communicate with fans and media, to work in tandem with him.

“The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates,” Gorton said. “Kent stood out, and we believe he is the right person to be the general manager of the Canadiens. We also believe that Kent’s experience as an agent will be a great asset to the organization.”

Hughes is bilingual, as he was born and raised in Beaconsfield, Quebec, although he currently resides in Massachusetts. His two sons, Jack and Riley, play for Northeastern University.

This is Hughes’ first job with an NHL club but the 51-year-old has a wealth of experience working in hockey. The client list at Quartexx Management includes Patrice Bergeron, Mitch Marner, and Darnell Nurse.