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The big question is whether Ivan Demidov is best surrounded by
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The big question is whether Ivan Demidov is best surrounded by
Credit: Getty Images
It’s been a busy few days, hasn’t it?

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton (as well as quite a few people at the Canadiens, in fact) have been hard at work laying the foundations for what the Canadiens of 2025-2026 will look like.

The goal? Get back to the playoffs.

It all started, of course, with the Noah Dobson deal last week. The Canadiens’ GM gave away his first two picks in 2025 along with Emil Heineman to get the defenseman, who signed a lucrative $76 million contract extension in the process.

It continued with nine new prospects, including the very talented Alexander Zharovsky, joining the Montreal organization on the heels of the second day of the draft.

What’s next? Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Xavier Simoneau, Gustav Lindström (who was leaving for Europe anyway) and Noel Hoefenmayer did not receive a qualifying offer, unlike Cayden Primeau and a few other prospects.

But it took a few hours before the goalkeeper was sent to Carolina.

Brandon Gignac (Europe), Alex Barré-Boulet, Connor Hughes (Europe), David Savard (retirement), Joel Armia (Los Angeles), Christian Dvorak (Philadelphia) and Michael Pezzetta (Toronto) became free agents.

Then came the second major coup of the last few days: Québécois Zachary Bolduc came to town in exchange for Logan Mailloux.

The Habs have also acquired Samuel Blais, Kaapo Kahkonen, Alex Belzile and Nate Clurman on the free agent market. These are players who will have to fight for their place in the NHL.

And the Rocket have signed Tobie Paquette-Bisson and Wyatte Wylie.

Obviously, there’s still time for Kent Hughes to improve his team. But right now, we have to ask ourselves: have the off-season objectives been achieved?

Many of them were, yes.

1. The Canadiens have improved in front of the net. Kaapo Kahkonen will be able to back up Jacob Fowler if he plays in Laval, and he’ll be able to challenge Jakub Dobes for an NHL spot – or replace him adequately in the event of injury or poor performance, for example.

Ultimately, having him replace Cayden Primeau in the organization chart is a plus.

2. As our colleague Maxime Truman said, expect to see several forwards come to town. And clearly, that’s what’s happened, as it took guys to fill jerseys in both Montreal and Laval.

The club has more depth than it did before the free-agent market opened.

3. The Canadiens have improved their defense (and powerplay) via Dobson. Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Carrier, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble are likely to start the season in the NHL, if nothing changes.

And although Logan Mailloux has left for St. Louis, David Reinbacher is still here. There are other prospects, but Reinbacher is the biggest name on the club’s blue line.

But you know as well as I do that THE big issue of the summer was the second center position. And as of today, the Canadiens are in a worse position than they were on Monday. #ChristianDvorak’sDeparture

Right now, only four center players are guaranteed to start the year in Montreal – if you take injuries and potential trades out of the equation, of course:

  • Nick Suzuki
  • Kirby Dach
  • Alex Newhook
  • Jake Evans
Yes, guys like Oliver Kapanen (who played in Montreal late in the season) and Owen Beck (who got his chance during the season), to name but a few, will be in the mix for a spot in town.

But is there a real second center in the mix?

Until proven otherwise, it’s between Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook that it’s going to come down to second center. Ivan Demidov and Zachary Bolduc are not currently centers.

And even if Kent Hughes says he’s “ready to start with what he’s got” at center, I’m sure the GM isn’t the most comfortable of men with the idea of having Dach or Newhook be mandatory on a top-6 – so possibly with Ivan Demidov.

Does the GM want to give Dach another chance? Does he want to see Newhook go to the next level? I think he does.

But there’s a fine line between giving them a chance to prove themselves and not challenging them by bringing a top-notch center to the club. This could be the last big job of the summer.

Will it happen in the next few months? If so, will it be this summer, at camp or during the season? Time will tell.

If the season were to start today, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky would be playing with Nick Suzuki, although nothing is set in stone.

We can also assume that Ivan Demidov would be on the top-6 alongside… er…

In addition to the center position we’ve been talking about, it’s very possible that Zachary Bolduc, and not a guy like Patrik Laine, will start the season with Ivan Demidov on the second line.

Could Laine go play on a bottom-6 with Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson as well as Samuel Blais-like players fighting for a spot on the club? Possibly.

Bolduc played on a first line and a first wave powerplay in St. Louis at the end of the year. Is he the big addition for Ivan Demidov? Possibly, yes.

But will it be enough, if so, to adequately surround Demidov? Is it better to have Zachary Bolduc than Jordan Kyrou, who has often been linked with the Habs recently? Time will give us answers we can’t get right now. But Bolduc is a massive addition.

We know that surrounding the Russian, who has the potential to become the Canadiens’ best player and dominate the top line for years to come, is a priority in town.

Let’s not forget that, several weeks ago, Jeff Gorton said that the top-6 could be strengthened through the wings, given the state of the center market. Demidov may have seen his bosses give him his winger in Bolduc. So he may be better served than he was 24 hours ago.

But the fact remains that at center, there are still questions to be asked. That hasn’t changed… even if Bolduc could become a key player in the Canadiens’ future.


extension

– The Canadiens want to make the playoffs in 2026. But we’ve seen that even if the club has never been as improved as it has been in the last few days since the change in management, the long term still prevails.

Management doesn’t want to turn corners by going after contracts that don’t fit with the plan. It’s perfect!

– Zachary Bolduc and Logan Mailloux are first-round picks in 2021. The Habs traded the guy who plays a premium position for a winger, but still had the edge according to many.

Kent Hughes will now have to hope that the Blues, who wanted to draft Mailloux in 2021 but didn’t due to circumstances, don’t see the American club win the deal. A defenseman takes a long time to develop…

– The Canadiens managed not to give away Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher to get Noah Dobson, but it took the Ontario defenseman to get Zachary Bolduc out of St. Louis.

Another first-round pick of the Marc Bergevin era leaves the Canadiens. Only two players drafted in the first round by the former administration are still in town: Cole Caufield (2019) and Kaiden Guhle (2020), both signed long-term by HuGo.

– It’s no surprise that Kent Hughes didn’t announce a contract extension for Lane Hutson yesterday. It’s safe to assume that negotiations are ongoing.

There’s no rush, but…

– Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak were too expensive for the Canadiens and have left. That’s going to change the dynamic on the last two lines, both down low and in terms of the presence of veterans in the room.

With David Savard, that’s three big veteran departures. We mustn’t neglect this aspect, as the Habs are still very young.

– Carey Price’s contract hasn’t been traded (yet?). If it has to be done (I think it will be before October), we can assume it will be in September, once his final signing bonus has been paid.

But I’m sure Kent Hughes is already on the case. He could have a gentleman’s agreement before September, you know.

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