Canadiens 'GM Hughes' Biggest Mistake Could Be Trading Kovacevic – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

At the time, trading Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils made sense. At least it made sense for Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes to open up a spot on the right side of defense with prospects Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher knocking on the door.

Of course, Mailloux, recently demoted to the American Hockey League and Reinbacher, even if he was injured this preseason, probably wouldn't make it out of training camp. None of them are good. However, with both Kovacevic and righty David Savard set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, Hughes is faced with several key decisions:

• Is there any point in re-signing one or both?
• How long do you wait to trade each (or lose for nothing) if not?

The answer to the first question is actually “no.” It's unlikely anyone would be happy with a temporary deal to serve as a glorified stopgap measure to align with the Canadiens' timeline to contend, to successfully integrate the team from now until both Mailloux and Reinbacher would. they are ready to take their next steps. On top of that, looking to 2024-25, the realistic hope was almost every hope would come, if not this year than next. So, parting ways with both veterans was on the cards.

The answer to the second question is not clear. Justin Barron is no longer exempt from waivers. The Canadiens also decided to keep Lane Hutson out of training camp, thus forcing Kaiden Guhle to take another spot on the right side of the defense, thus leaving one full-time open right side for Kovacevic and Savard. When Kovacevic was traded in late June, Jordan Harris, who was eventually traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Patrik Laine deal, had been on the team. Despite being on the left, head coach Martin St. Louis used to get him on his opposite side. So, one can see if Hughes feels like he can't wait for the trade deadline to move both veterans.

Related: Canadiens Must Reassess Seventh Defense Needs for 2024-25

This is where things get complicated. Only 27 years old, Kovacevic has shown an impressive balance between defensive awareness and puck movement ability. Savard is 34 years old and, despite an increase in his production in 2023-24, he is not good at both ends of the ice. Ideally, Hughes would trade Savard and keep Kovacevic, especially since he's young and, even if something goes wrong in the development of Mailloux/Reinbacher, he could still make a solid defensive lock on the team's end. years to come.

The Canadiens Are Currently Sucking Defensively

Well, something went wrong. And that doesn't just refer to Reinbacher's injury, which is absorbing some anger. The Canadiens were playing terrible defense. They gave up the fifth-highest number of shots per game (31.9). They have allowed 29 goals in their last six games. They rank last in the entire league in expected goals against at five-of-five percent (as of Nov. 5, according to MoneyPuck.com).

It's easy to argue that the Canadiens are more dangerous on defense than last season, despite the perceived growth of a young defense team, although Hughes and senior vice president of hockey Jeff Gorton suggested before this season that they envision the team there. put together a playground. Less than a month into the season, while that's still possible, they're 4-7-1, already scoring points, last in the Atlantic Division and looking like a lottery team.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. And Kovacevic's loss in defense is the biggest glaring difference to the worst as to why it happened as it did. Yes, he's just one player, someone who played a forgettable 16:31 per game last season (which ranked sixth among all full-time Canadiens defensemen). However, part of the reason those minutes were so forgettable is because Kovacevic was invisible, which is the kind of thing you hope for in a defensive defender: someone who doesn't make mistakes. If the Stanley Cup contenders can't find role players like the missing pieces of the puzzle every March or so to push them to the top, the idea that Kovacevic could be the player to legitimize this team. Play The opponent is not so crazy.

Kovacevic vs. Savard

Ironically, one of those missing pieces was Savard to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021. Playing sixth in 14:07 among Bolts defensemen in the postseason, Savard helped them win the Stanley Cup. Considering what the Lightning gave the Columbus Blue Jackets for him at the time, the value of a potential defenseman with unlimited upside, even one playing lower on the roster, is clear. So, while Hughes may have felt like he had to trade a veteran defensive tackle to make room, the fourth-round pick he got wasn't great. The whole situation has been the same in retrospect, with the better defender of the two having been traded.

Now, based on the objective view that Kovacevic is a better defender, maybe the Devils just wanted him. Perhaps Hughes found it difficult to free Savard. In the end, based on how this season has gone so far in terms of defense and the expected promotion the management team helped usher in, that doesn't matter. Kovacevic will be an eyesore on the team's blue line, especially given reports that the Canadiens were looking to land a top-four defenseman in the near future.

Some might say that Kovacevic isn't a top-four defenseman, based on his average ice time last season. However, he gets the third most on the Devils' blue line. He spends too much, making the decision to trade him, at least when the Canadiens did, a big mistake. It might be the greatest Hughes has ever done, all things considered.

To Hughes' credit, he has done a great job of building a solid foundation for a team that will compete in the future. However, he was not perfect. Montreal newspaper writer Brendan Kelly argued recently that the acquisitions of Barron, Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook were mistakes. It's not that easy, just because each one didn't work as well as expected in the beginning.

For those who say “in HuGo we trust”, think about what my friend said. 'Barron, Dach, and Newhook are some of the worst moves we've made since we rebuilt.' Boom. Three bad trades. I am not saying that anyone should be fired. Just stop saying these guys are infallible. There are three of you.

– Brendan Kelly (@brendanshowbiz) November 3, 2024

Dach, when healthy, has shown signs of being a potential No. 1 center. Giving up defensive-defenseman Alexander Romanov in a trade still represents a fair price to pay if he's even the No. 1 pick. and points even though they played only 55 games. He may have had a rough start to the season, but all he's called are 31st and 37th picks—all picks, which statistically, end up impacting players in the NHL. Any sane GM makes that trade 10 out of 10 times.

As for Barron, defending his progress or lack thereof is clearly difficult. The player who went the other way, Artturi Lehkonen, went top six for the Colorado Avalanche. Barron hasn't established himself as an NHL defenseman yet, though his laissez-faire nature has forced the Habs' hands.

There is still hope that Barron, an offensive-minded top-four defenseman the Canadiens still need, will undoubtedly come out ahead of another winger in Lehkonen. He is only 23 years old. In addition, the second-round pick the Habs also received in the trade helped acquire the pick used for first-round pick Michael Hage. So, not all is lost in that.

Kovacevic Trade Unforced Hughes Error

On the Kovacevic front, not all is lost either. The trade looks like an unforced error on Hughes' part, based on what we know now. Based on what he knew at the time, he didn't need to pull the trigger. By all appearances he made a decision, just as he made the invitation to make it clear that the Canadiens will be very competitive this season. That may happen sooner.

Hughes could still be right about that. A lot will have to change for the better for that to happen, starting with defense. Considering Kovacevic would be a perfect fit for their offense, he was wrong there too. He is allowed to make mistakes though, as long as he sticks to the master plan of not rushing to rebuild. Therefore, it is not about bowing to criticism and external pressure to develop the team faster than expected, but learning from his inevitable mistakes so that the team he has built can develop in the intended way.

As much as Kovacevic got Hughes, he deserves credit for seeing in him what other teams didn't initially see. Hughes simply lacked the foresight to predict how much of a role he would have played this season. Hindseeing as it is, it is admittedly very easy for outsiders to guess him.

Hughes has to answer for himself, but, if we're talking about a team that finished fifth from last season, a team that still shows year-on-year improvement in terms of points on his watch, maybe. did you consider his entire career before throwing stones? Kovacevic will go down as the club's forgotten defender, an unheralded piece who may be gone soon. No one should hope that Hughes will follow in his footsteps.