100,000 Pennies

     

    The great Shel Silverstein (he of Where the Wild Things Are) once wrote a poem called 100,000 Pennies. It goes, in part:

    "I broke into the bank on Sunday,

    You should see the money I got

    I couldn't drag it home 'til Monday,

    'Cause it sure weighed an awful lot.

    

    Then I sat down to count it,

    And much to my surprise,

    A whole lotta little brown, little round coins,

    Rolled out before my eyes.

    

    I've got a hundred thousand dollars worth of pennies,

    Not a solitary dollar or a dime,

    And I don't believe there's many

    Rich men with a problem like mine."

    Silverstein was talking about how a person could have a lot of money, but unless it's in a useable form they can't do much with it.

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    Kent Hughes has definitely robbed the bank of NHL-ready prospects over the last few years. The embarrassment of riches includes rock stars Juraj Slavkovsky, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. Jacob Fowler, Owen Beck, Adam Engstrom, Florian Xhekaj and Jared Davidson have all played at least five NHL games with the promise of more to come.

    Knocking on the door are David Reinbacher and Michael Hage. Bryce Pickford is tearing up the WHL as a defenceman and has just signed his entry-level deal. L.J. Mooney is small but skilled and looked good playing for Team USA at the recent World Junior Championships. Alexander Zharovsky is putting up almost a point a game in the KHL and drawing tons of praise for his skill and vision.

    At the NHL level, injuries have allowed solid players like Zach Bolduc, Joe Veleno and Sammy Blais to show their stuff and with the return from injury of Kaiden Ghule, serviceable defenceman Jayden Struble has been relegated to the pressbox.

    The Canadiens have a plethora of star power, backed up by reliable utility players and three reasonable options in goal.

    Now, with injured players about to return, Hughes has got to figure out how to convert some of his 100,000 pennies into dollars.

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    Few NHL general managers were as shrewd and forward-looking as the Canadiens' Sam Pollock. For him, it wasn't just about building champions. It was about building dynasties. Stocking the farm system, then using those prospects and aging veterans to bring back high draft picks (see Lafleur, Guy) kept the glory train running. Between 1964 and 1978, the Canadiens won nine Stanley Cups during Pollock's tenure.

    In describing his trade philosophy, he said "I've always traded for futures, not pasts." And, he noted, "Sometimes the best moves you make are the ones you don't make."

    Hughes is the rare modern GM who not only understands the Pollock philosophy, but has the patience to follow it. The challenge he's facing now is time. When he robbed that prospect bank, the assumption was the players were going to develop gradually and strengthen the Canadiens step by step. Nobody could have predicted that within four years of Hughes' arrival the Habs would have a dynamic second (first ?) line with an average age of 21 years old. Or that they'd have a Calder Trophy winner with two more potential winners coming behind him.

    To date, Hughes has had the luxury of being sure of what he's got before he moves young talent or useful veterans for other necessary pieces. Now, with the young talent developing rapidly, he must make decisions earlier than he might otherwise.

    With a current log jam at the NHL level and tons of talent coming, Hughes will face a new test of his acumen. His heretofore carefully-considered timeline has to speed up, and his ability to make wise personnel decisions will be tested.

    Moves will be coming, and sooner rather than later.

    There are not many rich men in hockey with a problem like Hughes', but if anyone can find gold in 100,000 pennies, it'll be him.