Hughes becomes the 18th general manager in Canadiens history. The 51-year-old Montreal native, who grew up in Beaconsfield, has a wealth of management experience in the hockey world, primarily as a partner and certified agent with the renowned Quebec-based firm, Quartexx Management. Hughes represented a host of NHL stars, including Patrice Bergeron, Kristopher Letang, Anthony Beauvillier and Darnell Nurse. He joined Quartexx Management in 2016 following a merger with the MFive Sports firm, with whom he was previously affiliated. At the time Hughes joined the Canadiens, he represented more than 20 players under NHL contracts.

"We are very excited to add Kent Hughes to our organization. Kent is highly-respected in the hockey world, having built an excellent reputation as an NHL player agent for over 25 years now," said Geoff Molson.

"The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates. Kent stood out, and we believe he is the right person to be the general manager of the Canadiens. We also believe that Kent's experience as an agent will be a great asset to the organization," declared the executive vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton.

Hughes earned his law degree from Boston College in 1996. Before embarking on a career representing professional athletes, he played collegiately at Middlebury College, sporting the Panthers' colors from 1988 to 1992. Hughes still holds several of the school's scoring records and he was inducted into the Middlebury College Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. Before joining the NCAA ranks, Hughes captained the Lac St-Louis Lions in the Quebec-based league formerly known as Ligue Midget AAA.

Kent Hughes and his wife, Deena, have three children, Riley, Morgan and Jack.