The Montreal Canadiens not only returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight year earlier this spring, but they also enjoyed consecutive Game 7 road victories over the divisional rival Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres.
And while their run eventually was halted in the third round by the Carolina Hurricanes, they feel as though they’re set up for a long time to succeed in the heavily competitive Atlantic Division.
GM Kent Hughes managed to re-sign forward Ivan Demidov to an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension, while also signing goaltender Jakub Dobes to a three-year, $16.07 million contract extension.
And as Dan Milstein, the player agent for Demidov, recently explained, he wanted to take less on his contract to give the Canadiens more room to add additional talent.
Montreal Canadiens Forward Ivan Demidov Took A Discount To Give GM Kent Hughes More Cap Flexibility
According to Milstein, Demidov could have commanded more on his contract, but wanted to give the Habs more breathing room with regard to the salary cap.
“If I had it my way, the deal probably would have looked a little different,” said Milstein via The Montreal Gazette.. “Ivan basically said he wanted the eight-year deal. He wanted it done quickly and wanted to leave room (financially) for Montreal to get even better.”
“His exact words were, ‘We’re in a great situation. I feel like we’re going to be winning for many years.’ He wanted to leave money on the table so they can sign other players,” Milstein continued.
And with almost $10 million left in available salary cap space, the Canadiens do have more flexibility for further moves if they so choose.
If Demidov continues his upward trajectory, it will give him a chance to cash in once again while he’s still in the prime of his career.
“My client, at the age of 28 or 29, will be able to sign whatever deal’s available at the time,” Milstein said. “That will probably be four or five times bigger than what it is today. For the time being, Ivan is extremely happy. He’s grateful and gracious. They came to him after only 84 (career) games. There are no regrets.
“He wanted this deal. He knew there were other, bigger deals coming in the future. He knows he’s going to improve and wanted to be like everyone else on the team.”
Demidov and the Canadiens open Training Camp later this month, and will start the preseason portion of their schedule against the divisional rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 19.
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Demidov, whom the Canadiens selected in the first round (fifth overall pick) of the 2024 NHL Draft, would make his NHL debut near the end of the 2024-25 season, and tallied a goal with an assists in two regular season games before skating in five postseason games, during which he had two assists.
He then skated in all 82 regular season games in 2025-26, scoring 19 goals with 43 assists and then adding three goals with six assists in 19 postseason games.
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