{"id":541247,"date":"2026-04-05T01:13:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T01:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/541247\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T01:13:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T01:13:31","slug":"canadiens-target-top-ncaa-free-agent-tj-hughes-star-teammate-of-prospect-michael-hage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/541247\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens target top NCAA free agent TJ Hughes, star teammate of prospect Michael Hage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nCanadiens target top NCAA free agent TJ Hughes, star teammate of prospect Michael Hage    &#13;<br \/>\n &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Montreal Hockey Fanatics has no direct affiliation to the Montreal Canadiens, NHL or NHLPA<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  &#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/656349.webp.webp\" style=\"width:100%;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Michigan Wolverines forward T.J. Hughes (13) skates with the puck against Penn State during a Big Ten Tournament quarter final game at Yost Arena.\" title=\"Michigan Wolverines forward T.J. Hughes (13) skates with the puck against Penn State during a Big Ten Tournament quarter final game at Yost Arena.\"\/>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Journalist Marco D\u2019Amico revealed that Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is targeting college free agent TJ Hughes amid strong NHL interest.<\/p>\n<p>The Montreal Canadiens\u2019 general manager has reportedly set his sights on college free agent TJ Hughes.<\/p>\n<p>The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers are also reportedly among the most interested teams, in addition to the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n<p>Undrafted in the NHL, the forward has compiled an impressive total of 178 points in 155 career college games.<\/p>\n<p>He had his best season this year with 56 points in just 39 games played, alongside Michael Hage.<\/p>\n<p>These outstanding performances have also earned him a very prestigious nomination for the Hobey Baker Award.<\/p>\n<p>Will TJ Hughes sign with the Montreal Canadiens after the Frozen Four?<\/p>\n<p>Wolverines head coach Brandon Naurato has nothing but praise for his team\u2019s captain.<\/p>\n<p>He describes the 24-year-old as an extremely complete player who excels in all situations.<\/p>\n<p>His impeccable work ethic makes him a true professional, both on and off the ice.<\/p>\n<p>The coach says he is always the first to arrive at the gym and that he devours video sessions to improve.<\/p>\n<p>Having that kind of attitude fits perfectly with the culture established by the Canadiens\u2019 management in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>It would not be surprising to see the Canadiens announce the signings of TJ Hughes and Michael Hage at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sources indicate NCAA UFA and Michigan captain T.J. Hughes will be in high demand once his season ends next week.<\/p>\n<p>After turning down NHL offers last spring, he is primed to sign an ELC soon.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of Canadian teams expected to be in the mix.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Marco D&#8217;Amico<\/p>\n<p>Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n<p>POLL<\/p>\n<p>AVRIL 3|577 ANSWERS<\/p>\n<p>Canadiens target top NCAA free agent TJ Hughes, star teammate of prospect Michael Hage<\/p>\n<p>Would you like to see the Montreal Canadiens sign college free agent TJ Hughes?<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; Canadiens target top NCAA free agent TJ Hughes, star teammate of prospect Michael Hage&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,27194,2257,21,4,59702],"class_list":{"0":"post-541247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-marco-d","10":"tag-michael-hage","11":"tag-montreal-canadiens","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-tj-hughes"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116349450406240160","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}