Montreal Is Alive! Why Habs Fans Are So Excited About Ivan Demidov's Arrival

Montreal Canadiens fans haven't felt this excited in years. After the worst three-year stretch in franchise history, the team is on the verge of finishing their unbelievable second half of the season and clinching a spot in the postseason since 2021, when they went to the Stanley Cup Final.

Since December 1st, they rank seventh in the NHL in terms of points with a record of 31-18-6, and in that time, the team's young stars have taken a major step. Cole Caufield is close to scoring forty goals for the first time in his career, Nick Suzuki is officially a point-per-game player, Juraj Slafkovsky has looked more like the player we saw at the end of last season, and Lane Hutson has taken the NHL by storm and appears to have all but locked up the Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year. Not only is the future bright in Montreal, but it appears the future is now, and even more help is on the way for the Canadiens playoff push.

After being teased with social media highlights all year long, the Canadiens reached a deal with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg that will allow the Habs to bring over their top prospect, Ivan Demidov, the fifth overall pick in last year's NHL entry draft. The 19-year-old forward had a year of ups and downs in the KHL this season, and even with limited ice time, he ended his time in that league being SKA's lead scorer with 19 goals and 30 assists (49 points) and also broke Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov's KHL record for most points in a season by a player under 20 years old, who had 42 points during the 2016-17 KHL season.

Some scouts have compared Demidov to other Russian stars such as Kaprizov and Nikita Kucherov, and while those are pretty lofty expectations, the fact is, I have never seen my favorite team have a prospect like Demidov that has made the fan base this fired up. If Demidov can just be 75% of the players Kaprizov and Kucherov are, his arrival could be a game-changer for the franchise. A power play for years to come that will feature Demidov alongside Hutson, Suzuki, and Caufield is just exciting to think about, and I cannot wait to see it live.

Not to mention, the timing is perfect. As the Canadiens pursue the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot, Demidov’s arrival seems straight out of a Hollywood script. If the Canadiens can finish the job and clinch a playoff spot, they will certainly go up against the Washington Capitals, who have a certain Russian superstar you may have heard of… the new NHL all-time leader in career goals, Alex Ovechkin.

Demidov getting his first taste of NHL playoff action against his idol in Ovechkin is just so poetic.

Although Demidov’s journey from Russia to Montreal has only just started, the hype surrounding it is already insane. After years of bad hockey, the Bell Centre is ready to explode and cheer on this team in the postseason. We've seen the Habs go on surprising deep playoff runs before, and who knows, could this be the catalyst for another? 

Only time will tell, but God, I cannot wait to see Demidov injected into this young lineup.

Go Habs Go!