Kent Hughes gets rid of two young players and asks for permission to bring in another

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Elias Adaime
August 25, 2024 (2:46 PM)

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Montreal Canadiens general manager, Kent Hughes, has just made a decision regarding three young players in the organization.

Due to the NHL rule that limits the number of contracts a team can sign to 50, general managers have tough decisions to make regarding their prospects.

This is particularly true for a team like the Canadiens, who have drafted so many players in recent years.

So, there comes a time when a general manager like Kent Hughes faces a dilemma with certain players.

1. Offer him a professional contract, keep him in the organization, and get closer to the 50-contract limit.

2. Release the player.

With 40 selections made by the Canadiens over the last four drafts, it will be important for Kent Hughes to choose the right prospects to offer contracts.

In June, the Canadiens chose to let the rights of prospects Cedrick Guindon, Petteri Nurmi, and Miguel Tourigny expire.

In August, the Canadiens had to make decisions about three other prospects.

We are talking about Ty Smilanic, Rhett Pitlick, and Blake Biondi.

In their case, since they are NCAA candidates, the deadline was actually August 15th.

Knowing all this, the verdict is in.

The Canadiens release Rhett Pitlick and Blake Biondi, but surprisingly bring back Ty Smilanic

This is interesting.

"The Canadiens have confirmed that they have allowed their exclusive rights to prospects Rhett Pitlick and Blake Biondi to expire, but they have retained the rights to Ty Smilanic."

- Samuel Doiron

How is this possible? The Canadiens haven't announced Smilanic's signing, have they?

As my colleague Keven Mawn reports, Kent Hughes has just changed his mind and requested special permission for Ty Smilanic.

"To everyone's surprise, even though the deadline for his signing rights has passed, the Montreal Canadiens have asked the NHL to keep a veto right on Smilanic a little longer."

It might be related to his status as a college player, but he decided to turn professional as early as the 2023-2024 season.

"Indeed, the stipulation that allows unsigned college players to become free agents after their NCAA career depends on obtaining a degree, which Smilanic never did. After transferring from Quinnipiac to Wisconsin in 2022 and turning pro with the Lions less than a year later, the 22-year-old center never earned a degree."

So, Smilanic still belongs to the Montreal Canadiens, even though he hasn't signed a contract with the organization.

Let's remember that he was acquired from the Florida Panthers in March 2022 in the Ben Chiarot trade. He was a 3rd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Source: HABSolumentFan
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Credit: RG.org
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