Development is more important than cap implications as we saw with Reinbacher last year, that being said getting extra training in and practicing with that squad with the occasional game is similar to an NCAA schedule so it’s not all doom and gloom from not playing
Prospect Info: [2024 - 5th] Ivan Motherbleeping Demidov (RW), SKA St. Petersburg (MHL)
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Development is more important than cap implications as we saw with Reinbacher last year, that being said getting extra training in and practicing with that squad with the occasional game is similar to an NCAA schedule so it’s not all doom and gloom from not playing
BLONG7
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Your opinion.....imagine the audacity of others who disagree.
Maybe some habs fans are tired of the team being garbage since 2017? And would like to look forward to a superstar in the making playing for our team??
Burn a year?? Like that matters to a rich organization like the habs.....
Maybe we need to ask, how does the player feel?? Is he miserable playing for a donkey coach?
Does he feel he could be better developed under the eye of the team in Laval? Montreal?
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Sorinth
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Well his immediate departure would mean 50ish games not 20, but the question we should ask isn't what's best cap wise, it's what's best development wise. And getting out of his 10min a game situation and playing in the NHL is going to be best for his long term development.
They can't wait to see ''the shinny new toys!'' Demidov next contract is could be 9m+ (with caps going up). If the Habs try to make a deep playoff push in 2028 , having him in his rookie contract will be a huge advantage for us.
That's accurate, even if he's bragging to his local media.
The SKA Arena opened in 2023 with a 21 152 seats capacity, beating the Bell Center by ~50 seats.
HE can't come over this year for the sake of the tank. A few games of Demidov won't make a difference in his career but an other top 5 pick would be tremendous overall.
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Jurivan Demidovsky
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Sorinth
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His current average is 10:48 per game, but my understanding is that it varies so yes there are games of 5min but also games of 15min.
Jurivan Demidovsky
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Alright thanks for the info. It's not as bad as I thought honestly. But still pretty bad, he should be playing at least 15+ on average
sampollock
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Grate n Colorful Oz
Pure Laine Hutson
Looks like burning a year worked out great for Caufield, gonna work out great with Hutson and should be the same with Demidov, although it won't happen in his case.
It's actually quite the opposite. The sooner you can sign a superstar longterm, the better off you'll be down the road because the cap keeps going up. Short sighted is thinking the ELC is the gravy.
A longer ELC means more time for the player to completely breakout and more money you risk paying down the road, which is worth a lot more than that single ELC rebate year you're burning.
Also, it's not a "hfhabs thing" as many teams have done that, including Hughes purposefully burning one year on Hutson. I'm glad he did it because that has the potential to save us a few mil on the cap. We'll be paying Hutson 7-8 mil per instead of 8-9 or more a year later.
Demidov's ELC will also inevitable carry bonuses, making the rebate small compared to what you can cummulatively save year after year by signing him earlier.
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Grate n Colorful Oz
Pure Laine Hutson
It's a one year advantage. I'd rather bank on signing them early to have many years of smaller rebate, rather than that one year where everything needs to fall into place at the same moment.
cphabs
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Get him over here now. ASAP. Not for improved standings but to adjust. Geopolitics as well. My .02
Adam Michaels
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MarkovsKnee
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Hughes & Bobrov were with Lecavalier. There's a photo of the 3 of them with Rotenberg.
sampollock
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MeanMugging91
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They did say they were going to go over and see him in action at some point this season. I doubt it's to bring a buffle bag full of cash to get him over.
I'm thinking its more likely to show Demidov how invested they are in him coming over to Montreal next year and to not get tempted into signing a year contract to get more the 4th line minutes. Maybe pump RR tires a little to get him a little more playing time. Could also be to smooth something over to alow him to join the habs after the khl season finishes and not wait till the actual contract end may 31.
Guess it's all speculation but I just don't see how they would allow him to come over mid season
The fact that Rotenburg used the word negotiation has been living rent-free in my head all day. I tracked down the original interview, and the Russian word he used does indeed translate directly to negotiation. In fact, if you search for the word on Google (at least my Google), all I got was results about negotiations in Ukraine. Still, from further poking around, it does seem like the word can also describe a conversation or meeting in certain contexts.
Still, I love to speculate, so I couldn't wait for the family to go to sleep so I could hop on my computer to dig deeper. I started asking myself, What would have to be true for Ivan Demidov to leave SKA St. Petersburg and join the Habs mid season? After some thought, I came up with six key conditions:
1. His contract with SKA St. Petersburg would need to be terminated.
Demidov is under contract. If he tried to leave and ignore it, he could be sanctioned in such a way that he cannot compete internationally with Russia, as seen with Fedotov. I've saw many people say that Demidov cannot leave in the last year of a contract, which makes his situation different than Michkov. From my digging, it seems like this only applies to a player-initiated contract termination. From reading the KHL Legal Regulations, it seems there are a number of clauses, including clause 6.2, that states the Club can unilaterally terminate the contract. So it seems contractually, there is a way out.
2. SKA would need an incentive to terminate the contract.
The most obvious incentive is financial. While it's been reported the Canadiens can't pay a transfer fee due to sanctions, a third-party agent - acting on behalf of Demidov and not the Canadiens - could potentially facilitate compensation to SKA St. Petersburg. This was reportedly the method used as part of Michkov's exit, according to Frank Seravalli.
Thinking a little less linearly, I think SKA could gain a reputation boost. If they allow Demidov to leave, it would mark the second time in 12 months they've permitted a high-profile prospect to join the NHL, and re-enforce a reputation that SKA is the best path young players can take to the KHL or NHL. For the record, SKA invested a lot of effort in developing an academy system, with the explicit goal of being the place where young Russian talent comes to best develop into NHL or KHL players. They have been a massive pipeline for talent to the NHL, KHL and the Russian National team.
There's also another interesting thought to consider. Earlier this year, the KHL announced their separation from Russia hockey, paving the way for NHL clubs to negotiate directly with KHL club for player transfer fees. This likely can't happen due to sanctions, but remember, President-elect Trump doesn't like sanctions on Russia. In other words, kids SKA St. Petersburg recruits today could be extremely lucrative when they are drafted in a few years time.
3. The KHL would have to approve the move.
While I don't have deep insights into this process, the league didn't block Michkov's transfer, so it's reasonable to think they'd allow it here too.
4. The IIHF would need to validate the transfer (as far as I can tell).
Similarly, I don't have deep insights, but the Michkov precedent suggests this should be straightforward.
5. Demidov would want to leave to the NHL.
All signs suggest that he does. Reports indicated he declined multiple extension offers from SKA earlier this year, further reinforcing his intent.
6. The Canadiens management would need motivation to act now.
The fact that three top executives (Hughes, Lecavalier, Bobrov) traveled to Russia suggests serious intent. The decision to send Hughes over Gorton is also interesting, as he is a former player agent known for his negotiating prowess. For context, I could not find any reports of Hughes visiting Reinbacher last season - only Rob Ramage went to visit. Additionally, Gorton expressed frustration in mid-October about Demidov's usage, stating: "We've seen what you see with his ice time dipping. We are in contact with the SKA organization. They know how we feel. This is the number-one reason why when we have a player like that... you wanna sign him and get him over and control all of it right away [...] We are in contact with his team over there, and it's certain that we would like him to play a lot more. It's a situation that is beyond our control and can be frustrating, but we are satisfied with his performances when he gets the playing time he deserves."
To be fair, in the same interview, Gorton did say it's unrealistic for the Canadiens to buy out Demidov's contract. But beginning in early November Demidov's icetime dropped beneath 10 minutes a game and hasn't really gone above that in a meaningful or sustained way since. Perhaps this has created an urgency for the Canadiens to explore alternatives beyond the Canadiens buying out the contract to bringing Demidov over early.
This is all speculative and I acknowledge that it's more likely than not that Demidov finishes the year in Russia. Still, I do think there might be a little bit more to this than usual, and I'll be really curious on if we hear more in the next couple of days. The Canadiens brass is reportedly still in Russia and will be attending another game tomorrow.
Still, I love to speculate, so I couldn't wait for the family to go to sleep so I could hop on my computer to dig deeper. I started asking myself, What would have to be true for Ivan Demidov to leave SKA St. Petersburg and join the Habs mid season? After some thought, I came up with six key conditions:
1. His contract with SKA St. Petersburg would need to be terminated.
Demidov is under contract. If he tried to leave and ignore it, he could be sanctioned in such a way that he cannot compete internationally with Russia, as seen with Fedotov. I've saw many people say that Demidov cannot leave in the last year of a contract, which makes his situation different than Michkov. From my digging, it seems like this only applies to a player-initiated contract termination. From reading the KHL Legal Regulations, it seems there are a number of clauses, including clause 6.2, that states the Club can unilaterally terminate the contract. So it seems contractually, there is a way out.
2. SKA would need an incentive to terminate the contract.
The most obvious incentive is financial. While it's been reported the Canadiens can't pay a transfer fee due to sanctions, a third-party agent - acting on behalf of Demidov and not the Canadiens - could potentially facilitate compensation to SKA St. Petersburg. This was reportedly the method used as part of Michkov's exit, according to Frank Seravalli.
Thinking a little less linearly, I think SKA could gain a reputation boost. If they allow Demidov to leave, it would mark the second time in 12 months they've permitted a high-profile prospect to join the NHL, and re-enforce a reputation that SKA is the best path young players can take to the KHL or NHL. For the record, SKA invested a lot of effort in developing an academy system, with the explicit goal of being the place where young Russian talent comes to best develop into NHL or KHL players. They have been a massive pipeline for talent to the NHL, KHL and the Russian National team.
There's also another interesting thought to consider. Earlier this year, the KHL announced their separation from Russia hockey, paving the way for NHL clubs to negotiate directly with KHL club for player transfer fees. This likely can't happen due to sanctions, but remember, President-elect Trump doesn't like sanctions on Russia. In other words, kids SKA St. Petersburg recruits today could be extremely lucrative when they are drafted in a few years time.
3. The KHL would have to approve the move.
While I don't have deep insights into this process, the league didn't block Michkov's transfer, so it's reasonable to think they'd allow it here too.
4. The IIHF would need to validate the transfer (as far as I can tell).
Similarly, I don't have deep insights, but the Michkov precedent suggests this should be straightforward.
5. Demidov would want to leave to the NHL.
All signs suggest that he does. Reports indicated he declined multiple extension offers from SKA earlier this year, further reinforcing his intent.
6. The Canadiens management would need motivation to act now.
The fact that three top executives (Hughes, Lecavalier, Bobrov) traveled to Russia suggests serious intent. The decision to send Hughes over Gorton is also interesting, as he is a former player agent known for his negotiating prowess. For context, I could not find any reports of Hughes visiting Reinbacher last season - only Rob Ramage went to visit. Additionally, Gorton expressed frustration in mid-October about Demidov's usage, stating: "We've seen what you see with his ice time dipping. We are in contact with the SKA organization. They know how we feel. This is the number-one reason why when we have a player like that... you wanna sign him and get him over and control all of it right away [...] We are in contact with his team over there, and it's certain that we would like him to play a lot more. It's a situation that is beyond our control and can be frustrating, but we are satisfied with his performances when he gets the playing time he deserves."
To be fair, in the same interview, Gorton did say it's unrealistic for the Canadiens to buy out Demidov's contract. But beginning in early November Demidov's icetime dropped beneath 10 minutes a game and hasn't really gone above that in a meaningful or sustained way since. Perhaps this has created an urgency for the Canadiens to explore alternatives beyond the Canadiens buying out the contract to bringing Demidov over early.
This is all speculative and I acknowledge that it's more likely than not that Demidov finishes the year in Russia. Still, I do think there might be a little bit more to this than usual, and I'll be really curious on if we hear more in the next couple of days. The Canadiens brass is reportedly still in Russia and will be attending another game tomorrow.
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