Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Might Have Won the Offseason Before It Even Started

Following the Leo Carlsson deal, the Ivan Demidov contract might have made the Canadiens the clear winners of the summer,

by
NHL Trade Talk
July 12, 2026

The Montreal Canadiens’ decision to lock up Ivan Demidov early is looking smarter by the day. Following Leo Carlsson‘s blockbuster offer sheet with Philadelphia (eventually matched by the Anaheim Ducks), Demidov’s eight-year, $9.15 million AAV extension already looks like a bargain by comparison.

As the Ducks deal with the fallout of having to pay $18 million per season to a player they could have had for millions less, other teams are looking at their RFA situations and realizing Daniel Briere just stuck it to everyone. The Canadiens, meanwhile, had taken care of business with Demidov just days earlier. Their heads-up and proactive approach saved the team as much as $50 million over the duration of his 8-year extension.

Montreal has quietly built one of the most cost-effective young cores in the league. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Noah Dobson, and Lane Hutson are all locked into team-friendly deals, and Demidov’s extension is just the latest, but it might be the most impactful. The timing of his deal is perhaps the best in years. Had the Canadiens waited…

Given Demidov’s rookie season, he led all first-year players in scoring and finished second in Calder Trophy voting, while also posting strong underlying defensive numbers — he could have easily come in at $14 million per season. That’s even conservative, given that he wanted to stay in Montreal and would have given the team a bit of a discount. But, now that the Carlsson deal happened, nothing is the same.

With rookie and sophomore contracts climbing rapidly across the league, Montreal hit the jackpot. Not only are there guys all on great deals, but they’re in a strong position to take on players from other teams who will be forced to move guys simply to afford what’s coming. As the market pushes prices even higher, the Canadiens are sitting pretty.

As other teams scramble to manage ballooning cap commitments, the Canadiens’ handling of their young core has given them the luxury of sitting and watching, plucking useful players off the market as they become available. Getting Demidov signed to his team-friendly number isn’t just about Demidov. It’s also about what the Canadiens can do with the money they didn’t spend.

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