Canadiens' playoff run allows Lane Hutson's defensive strengths to get a larger audience

RALEIGH, N.C. — Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes arrived in North Carolina on Wednesday and was asked to reflect on what he’s liked the most about building a team that finds itself in the Eastern Conference final a little more than four years after he took the job.Hughes began by saying he initially didn’t want to leave his job as a player agent, didn’t want this job, but Canadiens president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton essentially guilted him into it, suggesting Hughes had spent 20 years telling GMs how to run their teams, so maybe it was time for him to “put his neck on the line.”Advertisement