Canadiens Extend Core Members of Leadership Team

The Montreal Canadiens are handing out contract extensions left and right to kick off their 2025-2026 season. Days after signing their top young defender Lane Hutson to a new contract extension that will eat up some of his unrestricted free agency years, the organization has extended both their general manager and a key executive in their leadership group.

The Canadiens announced that the team agreed to multi-year extensions with both general manager Kent Hughes and executive Jeff Gorton. The team’s owner and CEO, Geoff Molson announced the extensions and shared the organization’s excitement and commitment to the duo.

“I am very pleased that Jeff and Kent have committed to the Montreal Canadiens for an additional five years. Their commitment to building a world class organization has been unrelenting and will only get better as we progress in the years to come,” he said. " I would like to thank Jeff and Kent for taking this team and organization to where it is today, full of talent, size and speed with a support structure that is second to none, an objective from day one. I look forward to many more years working with them."

Executives shake hand of draft pick — Jul 7, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Juraj Slafkovsky shakes hands with Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Building Toward a Championship

Both men are very familiar with the organization. Gorton has been with the Canadiens since 2021, when they hired him to help overhaul their executive team. The Canadiens’ website credits him with introducing the team’s first analytics department, which has clearly been instrumental in rebuilding the Habs.

Hughes was named general manager in 2022 under Gorton. Since his announcement in the role, the Canadiens have climbed in the rankings and taken multiple steps forward in their rebuild. It took an even greater step this past season, when the Habs made the postseason for the first time since the 2020-2021 campaign. They were eliminated in the first-round, but it was a tangible step forward that is setting them up for more over the next few years.

Under their leadership, the organization has greatly improved in identifying young talent to build around through the draft and key trades. This past offseason, they acquired players like Zac Bolduc and Noah Dobson to sure up their roster, and it’s already paying off in the early portions of the year.

They also installed an excellent head coach in Martin St. Louis. The Hockey Hall of Fame forward has been a strong bench boss for the young Canadiens team, guiding an ascending core to the postseason last year and with ambitions for even more in 2025-2026.

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