Hughes Reveals Who He Would Have Drafted with the Two Picks Traded to Colorado for Newhook
After acquiring Kirby Dach during the 2022 draft, Kent Hughes made a similar move the following year. This time, it was with the Colorado Avalanche for the services of Alex Newhook.
This second trade involved the Canadiens' first-round pick (31st overall) and second-round pick (37th overall), as well as defenseman Gianni Fairbrother.
A trade that still sparks debate among Montreal Canadiens fans
Less than two years later, and after nearly 107 games with the Canadiens, this trade is still not unanimously accepted.
Newhook is definitely not the player many expected, even though he had a decent first season with the team, recording 34 points in 55 games.
In 2024-25, the 2019 first-round pick (16th overall) has been slow to find his stride.
While he has shown some flashes of brilliance, his production has been underwhelming, as evidenced by his 14 points, including 9 goals, in 52 games.
It's no surprise that many fans would have preferred Kent Hughes to use his picks to draft prospects instead of spending them on Newhook.
Kent Hughes reveals who he would have selected if he hadn't traded for Alex Newhook
In a recent one-on-one conversation with Mathias Brunet and Simon snake Boisvert during an episode of the Processus podcast, Kent Hughes reflected on this trade.
He even revealed who he would have selected in the draft had he kept his picks.
But our scouts told me they thought they could get Fowler in the third round.»
- Kent Hughes
Hughes turned out to be lucky, as they managed to select Fowler in the third round, 69th overall.
Meanwhile, Brindley was picked early in the second round, 34th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On Colorado's side, they used the acquired picks to select Russian defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev at 31st overall and then traded the 37th overall pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Ross Colton.
Tampa Bay ultimately used that pick to draft Quebec-born forward Ethan Gauthier.
Kent Hughes was afraid of the Colorado Avalanche
This podcast episode also revealed that the Colorado Avalanche gave Kent Hughes quite a scare when it came to Jacob Fowler.
According to Hughes, the only team that could have drafted the highly touted goaltender was the team from Denver.
Since they traded their pick for Ross Colton, it significantly helped the Canadiens in this matter. Kent Hughes can certainly thank the Avalanche, as Montreal now has a promising prospect in their system.
Just take a look at his stats-not just this season, but since he arrived in the NCAA-to see for yourself.
