That was quickly shot down by Hughes aswell as Jeff Gorton, they have a good working relationship but Jeff Gorton hired Kent Hughes because he believed Hughes was the best man for job. Hughes was one of the best agents in the league, and had many star players he represented.
Hughes would go on to put that hiring his bestfriend rumor to bed saying, "if I wasn't qualified for the job I wouldn't be here I'm a hockey guy I've played coached and when not working ask my wife I'm always talking about hockey." So that should hopefully end that thought that he just hired his best friend.
"In a perfect world, we would be an offensive-minded hockey club,» Hughes said. «I don't think you can be successful in the National Hockey League today without being defensively responsible, but we see teams in the NHL where the focus is strictly defensive and others that are more creative. I envision a team that's fast, that plays fast with the puck. Fast as a word in itself it's probably a little bit overused in hockey. I envision a fast team that's a possession team, but I also realize understand that you have to build a team around the players you have and that's going to be process for us as we move forward.»
