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Jeff Gorton admits: Ivan Demidov’s (low) playing time is frustrating the Habs

 Christopher Brown
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Jeff Gorton admits: Ivan Demidov’s (low) playing time is frustrating the Habs
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot

For some time now, the subject of Ivan Demidov’s playing time in Russia has been the talk of Montreal. Fans would like to see the Habs prospect play more, as he often only gets a handful of minutes per game.

Especially since, when he plays a lot, he helps his club win. This was particularly true today.

Having said that, Habs officials have been rather discreet on the subject… but today, Jeff Gorton was asked about it during his visit to the Antichambre.

The interview will air on RDS at 10:30 p.m. tonight… but it’s already available on the channel’s YouTube account.

Gorton was asked about Demidov’s ice time, and he admits: it’s frustrating for the Habs to be in this situation. He notes that the club is in contact with SKA and that he has expressed his opinion on the situation to the Russian team.

Is this why SKA is starting to use him a little more in the last two games? Good question.

That said, as frustrating as all this is for the club, Gorton was clear on one thing: don’t expect to see the kid land in Montreal before the end of his contract in Russia:

Everyone thinks we can buy his contract, but that’s not realistic. He has one year left in Russia. – Jeff Gorton

Obviously, you have to be careful with a sentence like that. Even if it really were negotiated behind the scenes, Gorton would almost certainly not say it publicly. I tend to think he’s being honest when he says it’s not realistic, but you also have to be careful with such statements.

Obviously, this is not an ideal situation for the Habs. The club would certainly like to be able to repatriate him and avoid leaving him in a situation that seems rather complex, but it’s not that simple.

At least, it should be settled in a few months. It’s not ideal, but okay.

In the same interview, Gorton also mentioned that, following yesterday’s defeat, he sensed a frustration in his group that he hasn’t necessarily seen in previous seasons. He feels that his guys have higher expectations this season, and missing games like yesterday’s loss to the Penguins doesn’t sit well in the dressing room.

To be #InTheMix, the team’s tolerance for defeat will have to be lower and lower… and the guys seem to be aware of this.

Interesting comments from Gorton, which you can listen to HERE (or tonight at 10:30 p.m. on RDS). We’ll see if this frustration translates into results on the ice, but in the meantime, the leaders are pretty frustrated with what’s happening in Russia with the organization’s most promising prospect.

Everyone has a reason to be angry, obviously.


Overtime

– Enjoy.

– It’s true that it’s rare to see David Savard have such a bad night as he did last night.

– Jordan Kyrou is on fire.

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