The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Ivan Demidov to an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension on Wednesday, general manager Kent Hughes announced. The deal runs from the 2027-28 season through 2034-35 and carries an average annual value of $9.15 million.

Demidov, the fifth overall pick in the 2024 draft, just finished a rookie season that put him among the best young players in the league. He scored 19 goals and added 43 assists in 82 games, leading all rookies in points, assists, and power-play production.

Locking up a franchise piece early

Demidov finished second in Calder Trophy voting behind the Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer, and he was named to the NHL‘s All-Rookie Team. Montreal didn’t wait to see what year two would look like before making him one of the highest-paid players on the roster.

The contract includes $57.6 million in signing bonus money, a structure that gives Demidov most of his earnings regardless of games played, and a 10-team no-trade clause that kicks in for the final three years of the deal.

Locking a 19-year-old into a deal running through his age-27 season is a bet that his rookie numbers weren’t a fluke. Leading all first-year players in assists and power-play points across a full 82-game slate is a hard thing to fake.

What it means for Montreal’s rebuild

The Canadiens have been rebuilding around a core of young, high-end talent for several seasons now, and Demidov’s extension is the clearest signal yet of who they see as central to that plan. Paying him before his entry-level deal even wound down keeps his camp from ever testing restricted free agency.

It also sets a cap number the team can plan around for most of the next decade, which matters as Montreal tries to build out a roster fast enough to compete while Demidov and his draft classmates are still in their prime years.

A message to the rest of the roster

Demidov posted a message thanking Canadiens fans after the deal was announced, calling Montreal home. For a young European player who could have pushed for a shorter bridge deal and tested the market again in a few years, signing long-term is its own statement of intent.

The Canadiens now have their top rookie under contract on a deal that runs nearly a decade, well past the point where most of today’s rebuild pieces will need new deals of their own.

Nineteen years old and already signed through 2035. Montreal isn’t hedging on Demidov. They’re building around him.