The Montreal Canadiens are going to need to make some decisions sooner rather than later on restricted free agents like Zachary Bolduc and Kirby Dach, but on Monday, it was made clear that an extension for Ivan Demidov is clearly at the top of the list for GM Kent Hughes.
On Monday, Hughes and the President of Hockey Operations, Jeff Gorton, met with the media for the end-of-season press conference, and they were asked about Ivan Demidov. According to Eric Engels, Hughes said this about a possible extension for the former first-round pick, "There's no doubt we see Ivan as a core player to the team. I'll have discussions with his agent, I imagine, in the coming weeks. I think Ivan loves Montreal and likes playing here for the Canadiens, so, as we say, 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' We'll find a way to agree on a contract. I don't know if the player wants a short- or long-term contract, but, ideally, we'll sign him to a long-term contract."
After joining the Canadiens late in the 2024-25 season, Ivan Demidov was a regular part of the lineup this season. He would play in every game for the Canadiens, both regular season and playoffs, and finished with 62 points in the regular season with nine more in the playoffs.
Demidov is entering the final year of his entry-level contract, and it would make sense that the Canadiens want to get the deal done this summer before the Canadiens' forward plays out that last year and becomes a restricted free agent.
Ivan Demidov wants to sign with the Montreal Canadiens as long as possible
While Hughes wasn't sure whether or not Demidov wanted a long-term or short-term deal, later in the day, the forward made his desires crystal clear. "It is important to stay here for a long time because the group that we have here it's like a cup team."
He was asked a follow up question if his priority is to sign as long as possible and he said "Yeah."
The Canadiens have done a good job of signing their core to long-term deals, as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Noah Dobson, and Lane Hutson are all under contract for at least the next four seasons, with most signed longer than that. If the Canadiens can sign Demidov to a long-term deal as well, it puts them in a great position to keep their championship window open longer.
It seems both player and organization are aligned on next steps, and it will be interesting to see how long it might take to get a new deal done for Ivan Demidov.
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