The Montreal Canadiens just made a massive statement about who they think their next star is. Ivan Demidov, the 20-year-old rookie forward who finished second in Calder Trophy voting this season, is staying in Montreal for the long haul.
According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the deal is for eight years with an average annual value of $9.125 million. That works out to roughly $73 million total. When the extension kicks in next season, Demidov will be the second-highest paid player on the team, trailing only defenseman Noah Dobson.
Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even in North America two years ago.
The Canadiens drafted Demidov fifth overall in 2024. Instead of jumping straight to the NHL, he spent one more season with SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL. He joined Montreal at the tail end of the 2024-25 season, playing just two regular season games and scoring his first NHL goal along with his first assist. He also played five playoff games that spring and picked up two assists.
This season was a different story entirely. Demidov exploded for 19 goals and 42 assists, putting up 62 points in what was technically his rookie year. And he kept it going in the playoffs, scoring three goals and adding six assists as the Canadiens made a run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes.
That playoff run changed the conversation around this kid. He wasn’t just a talented prospect anymore. He was a guy who showed up when the games mattered most. The Canadiens clearly saw enough to lock him up before he could even think about testing the market.
The contract also locks up Montreal’s young core for the foreseeable future. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and now Demidov are all under contract through at least the 2029-30 season. That’s a solid foundation for a team that clearly believes its window is opening right now.
Demidov might have finished second to Matthew Schaefer for the Calder Trophy. But the Canadiens just paid him like a winner. And in a league where star forwards don’t come cheap, this deal could look like a bargain in a few years.
Stay tuned. Free agency isn’t over yet, and Montreal could still have more moves in mind.
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