The Montreal Canadiens just lost four of five games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Their star players were outplayed badly in Games 2 through 5, and Carolina outscored them 16-5 in that stretch.
An end-of-season press conference on Monday was always going to involve uncomfortable questions about why the team’s best players went quiet at the worst possible time. GM Kent Hughes had a ready-made answer, and it just happened to involve a team that was not even in the playoffs.
Kent Hughes Brings Up Mitch Marner and Maple Leafs at End-of-Season Press
Hughes was asked directly about his star players underperforming in the playoffs. His response pointed not at Carolina but at Toronto.
“Being here in Canada, it’s going to be a little bit of a narrative going into the Cup Final,” Hughes said. “There was that belief that certain players in Toronto underperformed in the playoffs. One season, one playoff doesn’t necessarily reflect another, and I think Mitch Marner is sitting atop the playoff scoring race, and it’s not just what he’s doing offensively, it’s how he is contributing to their team being where they are.”
Habs GM Kent Hughes speaks about the narrative around Montreal stars not performing in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/l7kThFERXc
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 1, 2026
Marner, who was traded from Toronto to the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1, 2025, as part of a sign-and-trade after signing an eight-year, $96 million contract, is leading every skater in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 21 points in 16 games.
The 29-year-old has already surpassed his previous career playoff high of 14 points, set in 11 games with Toronto in 2023. Vegas swept Colorado in four games in the Western Conference Final and faces Carolina in the Stanley Cup Final.
In nine seasons with Toronto, Marner’s teams combined to win just two playoff rounds. The problem with Hughes’ comparison, as hockey Twitter pointed out rapidly, is the context in which it was delivered.
TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun framed it with the sharpest edge. “It is crazy to think though that the Canadiens have already achieved this early in their program what Toronto couldn’t do in 9 years as far as getting past the second round. Mind boggling, really.”
It is crazy to think though that the Canadiens have already achieved this early in their program what Toronto couldn’t do in 9 years as far as getting past the second round. Mind boggling, really.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 1, 2026
LeBrun is right on the numbers. Montreal reaching the ECF in what is effectively year three of their rebuild is legitimately significant. What made the quote land awkwardly is that Hughes chose to introduce Toronto into a conversation about his own team’s shortcomings the day after getting eliminated.
Hockey journalist Nick Alberga had no interest in softening that observation. “Kent Hughes, fresh off being destroyed by Carolina in the ECF, bringing up the Toronto Maple Leafs for absolutely no reason whatsoever.”
Kent Hughes, fresh off being destroyed by Carolina in the ECF, bringing up the Toronto Maple Leafs for absolutely no reason whatsoever. https://t.co/eHOl6xz79u
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) June 1, 2026
The irony was not lost on others watching. Hockey commentator Alex Hobson went directly at the double standard. “I’m crying man. Tell me more about how Leafs fans are the ones who can’t stop talking about the Leafs. Just the literal Habs GM here saying ‘look I know our star players are gonna start catching Leafs allegations but one season doesn’t define them.”
Read More: Golden Knights Chief Reveals Why Maple Leafs Failed to Make Mitch Marner Era Count
Dan Riccio pointed at the deflection itself. “Using the Leafs to deflect any warranted criticism of your star players doesn’t change the fact that they were heavily outplayed in the Conference Final.”
Using the Leafs to deflect any warranted criticism of your star players doesn’t change the fact that they were heavily outplayed in the Conference Final. https://t.co/4mgUNCjrbO
— Dan Riccio (@danriccio_) June 1, 2026
Montreal won Game 1 against Carolina 6-2, then lost the next four by a combined score of 16-5. Hughes has legitimate questions to answer about why his team folded once the level of competition rose.
Using Marner, a player on a completely different franchise, as a shield against those questions gave the hockey world all the material it needed on an otherwise quiet Monday afternoon.
