A highly touted Montreal Canadiens prospect is playing out the final year of his KHL contract with SKA Saint-Petersburg.
As a result, many Habs fans were hoping the forward would join the team for the last few games of the season, similar to the NHL debuts of former NCAA players Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson.
However, per a new report from Canadiens journalist Marco D’Amico, that will not be the case.
Citing an unnamed source, D’Amico, who recently interviewed both Demidov and SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg, explained that due to the KHL’s decision to push the end of their players’ contracts to May 31, Demidov will now have to wait until the 2025-26 season to make his Montreal debut.
Don't shoot the messenger #GoHabsGo fans..
But it doesn't look like SKA will be looking to do Ivan Demidov any favours this season.
A source close to the situation breaks it all down below: https://t.co/qRD6X9cb4s
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) November 20, 2024
However, the Canadiens could secure Demidov’s rights if SKA is willing to terminate his contract early.
“Montreal could sign Ivan this season if SKA agrees to release him, allowing the Canadiens to retain his rights and sign him before the end of their regular season,” the source explained in an RG.org article.
But with Rotenberg committed to keeping Demidov in Russia, that scenario remains unlikely.
“Montreal is not going to convince SKA. Demidov has a valid contract. Everyone understands that Rotenberg will not let him go early,” the source added. “No one has any illusions. No one is asking for anything. No one is persuading anyone.”
Additionally, if Montreal is still in the playoffs on June 1, they could technically sign him for the 2024-25 season, with that year counting toward his entry-level contract.
But that seems even more improbable, with the Habs sitting last in the Atlantic Division.
Given the current circumstances, all parties involved appear to have accepted that the 18-year-old, selected fifth overall this past summer, will only join Montreal in the fall of 2025.
“Montreal understands that he will not come to them before the 2025-26 season under any scenario, and Ivan himself is fine with this,” the source concluded. “He’s just working off his contract.”
To complicate matters further, Demidov has faced inconsistent ice time with Saint-Petersburg, a situation that Montreal’s management has publicly expressed frustration over. Despite this, he has managed to record 20 points in 29 games in the KHL this season.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently reported that members of the Canadiens’ management team are planning a trip to Russia to observe his development.
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