The Montreal Canadiens have secured the most important piece of their rebuild, agreeing with forward Ivan Demidov on an eight-year contract extension worth $73 million.
The deal, reported by NHL.com and TSN, carries an average annual value of $9.125 million and does not begin until the 2027-28 season, once Demidov’s entry-level contract expires. It includes $57.6 million in signing bonuses and a 10-team no-trade clause across the final three seasons — structure that speaks to how firmly Montreal wanted the term locked before the winger’s price could climb any further.
Demidov, 20, is coming off a debut season that made this inevitable. He posted 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists) in 82 games, led all rookies in scoring, and finished second to Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer in Calder Trophy voting. He added nine points in 19 games as Montreal reached the Eastern Conference Final — a playoff run that, in this market, tends to accelerate exactly this kind of commitment. The No. 5 pick in 2024 is now signed through 2035.
In a market that measures everything against 24 banners, patience is rarely the first instinct. But locking a 20-year-old into franchise-cornerstone term before he can price himself out is the sort of discipline the Canadiens have too often lacked. The bet is straightforward: Demidov’s ceiling justifies $9.125 million long before the deal starts, and Montreal would rather overpay a year early than bid against the rest of the league three years from now.
The extension also reframes the rest of Kent Hughes’s summer. With the cornerstone signed, the work shifts to complementary scoring and a settled top six — a search that, so far, has produced more closed doors than deals.
For fantasy purposes, Demidov is a foundational dynasty and keeper asset whose value only rises with the security of term. He projects as a fixture on Montreal’s top power-play unit and a candidate to push past 70 points as soon as next season; in single-year leagues he is a strong mid-round forward with real breakout upside, and in points-only formats his playmaking is the draw.
