The Montreal Canadiens took care of a tidy bit of business on the opening of free agency as they locked up star Russian forward Ivan Demidov to an eight year $9.15 million contract.
The Canadiens were able to get this deal done a summer ahead of time with Demidov, giving them the chance to sign the 20 year old on a team friendly contract. Montreal’s future continues to look bright as they have locked in yet another young core piece for the long haul.
Montreal’s Youth Core Will be Intact for a Long Time
After the Demidov extension, that is an additional youth piece that has been secured in Montreal for the foreseeable future. He joins Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson as core Canadiens players with contracts that go to 2030 and beyond. Of note, not a single one of these contracts has an average annual value above $10 million per season.
Bottom line, this Montreal squad is going to be competitive for a long time. The franchise is coming off of a breakout campaign that saw the club reach the eastern conference finals, where they were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
There are few teams in the NHL that appear to be better positioned for future success than the Canadiens. General manager Kent Hughes has designed a strong team with pillars in every position. The forward group is elite with one of the best first lines in the league consisting of Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovsky. The offseason objective for Hughes should be adding another top-six player that can support Demidov on the second line.
The defense is strong as well. Bringing on Dobson last summer has greatly improved a Montreal blueline that had struggled in previous seasons. The emergence of Calder-winning defenseman Hutson on the back end has also revolutionized the Canadiens d-core. The goaltending was a question mark heading into this past season. However, the young duo of Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler has become a solid tandem for Montreal.
Canadiens Looking to Become a Stanley Cup Contender
Montreal looks close to finally breaking through for a Stanley Cup once again. No team in the league has won more championships than the Canadiens, with the organization holding 24 to its name. But, it has been a long time for this group. The last Cup victory seen in the Quebec province took place in the 1993 season. That is also the last year a Canadian team secured Lord Stanley.
This is the best place this team has been to compete for a Cup in a while. They have the young core needed to get the job done. They have also gained valuable postseason experience in recent campaigns. The next task has to be surrounding this youth group with the veteran weapons necessary to go all the way come playoff time. It will be interesting to see what further moves Hughes has up his sleeve this summer as he aims to take this team over the top.
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