‘He wanted this deal’: Agent explains Ivan Demidov’s team-friendly contract with Canadiens as NHL salaries skyrocket
With the salary cap increase and record-breakingly high contracts every few weeks, Ivan Demidov’s team-friendly discount is standing out more and more as time goes by.
Even his agent would’ve taken a different deal; he admitted to the Montreal Gazette as part of a feature explaining Demidov’s recent contract and the decision to take a lower salary.
But the 20-year-old Demidov, like much of the Montreal Canadiens team, had enough belief in the Canadiens’ core that he took a lower AAV to give management more room to maneuver in the future, settling for an eight-year contract on July 1, worth $9.15 million annually, which begins during the 2027-28 season.
“He wanted the eight-year deal. He wanted it done quickly and wanted to leave room (financially) for Montreal to get even better,” Demidov’s agent, Dan Milstein, said.
“He wanted to leave money on the table so they can sign other players.”
And Montreal does, indeed, have plenty of money left on the table. Currently, they have almost $10 million dollars in cap space remaining, per PuckPedia, placing them in the bottom 10 teams in predicted cap hit.
“(Demidov’s) exact words were: ‘We’re in a great situation. I feel like we’re going to be winning for many years,’” Milstein relayed. “He wanted this deal.”
While Demidov taking less is becoming rarer across the NHL, his discount decision is the norm in Montreal.
The Canadiens have locked up their young core until 2030 for less than $10 million yearly each, as they buy into the team’s long-term success. It seems to be paying off so far, with the squad making it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time since 2021, and just the second time since 2014.
Montreal Canadiens young core contract AAVs
| Player | AAV | Contract until |
|---|---|---|
| Noah Dobson | $9.5 mil | 2033 |
| Ivan Demidov | $9.15 mil | 2035 |
| Lane Hutson | $8.85 mil | 2034 |
| Nick Suzuki | $7.88 mil | 2030 |
| Cole Caufield | $7.85 mil | 2031 |
| Juraj Slafkovský | $7.6 mil | 2033 |
“[He] wanted to be like everyone else on the team,” Milstein said of his contract.
Demidov had a case for more money, especially in the league’s current climate. He led all rookies in points with 62 last season, and only trailed Macklin Celebrini in points for his 2024 draft class.
His only draft-class superior, scoring-wise, Celebrini recently signed a five-year, $18.8 million contract to temporarily become the league’s highest-paid player in history. Celebrini was dethroned a month later by Cale Makar‘s $20.4 million AAV. Connor Bedard, just a year older than Demidov, recently signed a five-year deal worth $15 million annually.
The salary spikes started, in part with the salary cap increase, when the Philadelphia Flyers gave Leo Carlson a $18 million AAV offer sheet, which the Anaheim Ducks matched for the highest contract in history, at the time.
Although Demidov took a discount this time, Milstein is confident his client’s value will only grow as he spends more time in the NHL. He believes that once he is an unrestricted free agent at 28, Demidov will be able to sign a contract that is “four or five times bigger than what it is today.”
“For the time being, Ivan is extremely happy. He’s grateful and gracious,” Milstein said. “No regrets.”
This isn’t the first time a Milstein client has taken a team-friendly deal. Aliaksei Protas is on his third yer of a five year contract, worth $3.375 million a year, with the Washington Capitals. Protas has scored 30 and 25 goals the last two seasons respectively and is one of the league’s best five-on-five players.
Milstein also represents Aliaksei’s brother, Ilya Protas, as well as Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Eriks Mateiko.
S/T @RinkyReport!
