Kent Hughes is closing in on a blockbuster trade that reshapes the Canadiens

Kent Hughes is hunting for a right-shot defenseman to play next to Lane Hutson, and one name keeps surfacing: Rasmus Ristolainen.

Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reported Wednesday that Hughes has two clear trade targets this summer.

A top-six forward, preferably a second-line centre, and an experienced right-shot rearguard to line up alongside Hutson on the blue line.

Other reporting has narrowed the defensive search even further. The Canadiens want size and snarl on the right side, and Ristolainen fits that profile.

Stu Cowan: Re Canadiens: There's no doubt Kent Hughes wants to make a trade, with his main targets being a top-six forward - preferably a second-line centre - and an experienced right-shot defenceman to play alongside Lane Hutson.

The Flyers defenseman posted 14 points in 44 games this season, with 13 assists and a plus-10 rating.

He carries a cap hit of 5,100,000 dollars, a number that matters plenty for a Montreal front office still managing its books.

Hutson just finished a monster campaign. He put up 78 points in 82 games, including 66 assists, while playing on the smaller side for a modern NHL blue liner.

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That size question is exactly why Hughes wants a physical partner next to him. Hutson can quarterback a power play. He is not built to clear the front of his own net against bigger forwards.

Ristolainen brings exactly that kind of frame. Whether he brings enough offense to justify the cap number is a different conversation entirely.

There is also a history angle here that Montreal fans will not love. The Canadiens went 0-3-0 against the Flyers this season.

That includes a shootout loss back in November and a 4-2 defeat in April that closed out the season series.

Philadelphia finished with 98 points and a plus-7 goal differential, a team that has quietly built some depth on its back end.

If Ristolainen ends up in Montreal, he would be walking into a locker room that already knows what it feels like to lose to his current team three times in one year.

The bigger question is the forward search. Hughes wants a second-line centre specifically, not just a winger who can slot in anywhere.

That kind of player rarely gets moved in July. Teams that have a legitimate second-line pivot do not usually give him up unless the return is significant or the fit is forcing their hand.

Nick Suzuki already centres the top line after a 101-point season, so any new centre would likely slot in behind him and push the middle six deeper than it has been in years.

Cole Caufield scored 51 goals this year and Juraj Slafkovsky added 30, so the finishing is already there up front.

What is missing is a proven playmaking centre who can drive a second unit without leaning entirely on Suzuki's line for offense.

Adding a name like Ristolainen would solve one problem while leaving the bigger one, a true second-line centre, still unresolved heading into the summer.

Hughes has been patient with roster building before. This time, with Hutson entering his prime and the window arguably open, patience might not be the right approach at all.