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Canadiens Select Ivan Demidov Fifth Overall

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The Canadiens have taken star Russian winger Ivan Demidov, who’s fallen past his consensus No. 2 public ranking to Montreal at fifth overall.

The Canadiens organization should be pinching themselves with the reality that Demidov fell to them at fifth overall. Outside of Macklin Celebrini, there was a consensus that Demidov was the most talented player in the draft. However, much like the fall of Matvei Michkov in last year’s draft, it may take some time for Demidov to find his way to North America.

Demidov played most of the 2023-24 season with SKA-1946 of the MHL, a junior hockey league in Russia. With his contract rights owned by SKA St. Petersberg of the Kontinental Hockey League, Demidov should suit up for them as soon as next year.

This season, Demidov showed why he was one of the most dynamic players available in the 2024 NHL Draft with 23 goals and a 60-point effort in only 30 games. In the postseason, Demidov continued to put points on the board with 11 goals and 28 points in 17 playoff games.

There are some questions surrounding his play on the defensive side of the puck, but his offensive characteristics should play nicely for the Canadiens. Even if Demidov spends the next 2-3 years in his native Russia, he projects to be worth the wait for Montreal.

Canadiens, Kings Swap First Round Picks

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded up to pick 21 in the 2024 NHL Draft, sending the Los Angeles Kings picks 26, 57, and 198 in return, per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).

Montreal, who also owns pick five, brings their two day-one selections just hours before they’ll take the podium. And they may not be done, per TSN’s Darren Dreger, who shares that the team is interested in finding another way into the Top 10, even if it means moving down from fifth overall (Twitter link). Dreger also mentions that Montreal is involved in player trade-talks as well, potentially opening the team up to an incredibly eventful day as they’re getting settled in to Vegas.

The 2022 NHL Draft marked the first time that Montreal has had two first-round picks since 2007 when they drafted Ryan McDonagh and Max Pacioretty. The team succeeded those picks with Juraj Slafkovsky and Filip Mesar in 2022 – and is now looking to make the most of the pair of picks in a strong 2024 first round. The class features talents at every spot, with players like Cole Eiserman and Berkly Catton bringing high skill to the wings, Michael Hage and Trevor Connelly standing as high-scoring centers, and Carter Yakemchuk and Anton Silayev potential fallers on defense. Even at five and 21, the Canadiens should have plenty of opportuntiy to bring in impactful lineup pieces.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles builds out their pool of future assets without losing too much stock on day one. It will be L.A.’s first time in the first round since 2021, when they selected Brandt Clarke eighth-overall. The Kings now have six picks in this year’s draft, more than they wielded in either 2021 or 2023, though three of their selections come in the sixth and seventh rounds. The Kings could afford some robust additions to their prospect pool, with little to look at besides Clarke and Jordan Spence. That should set the team up to take the best player available at each of their selections, regardless of positioning, as they look to find players who can quickly support their drive back to the postseason. At 25, they could be within reach of hardy forwards like Emil Hemming, Cole Beaudoin, and Jett Luchanko.

Canadiens To Non-Tender Jesse Ylonen

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  • Canadiens winger Jesse Ylonen will be non-tendered this weekend, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played his first full NHL campaign this season but recorded just four goals and four assists in 59 games after putting up 17 points in 36 appearances with Montreal in 2022-23.  His qualifying offer would have cost just over $813K but the team has determined they’re better off giving someone else a chance in that spot.

Sergei Berezin Passes Away At Age 52

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Earlier today, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former player Sergei Berezin at age 52. Berezin, born in Voskresensk in 1971, spent seven seasons in the National Hockey League from 1996-2003.

Berezin started his professional career in his home town of Voskresensk in the early 1990s while playing for Khimik Voskresensk of the Soviet Hockey Championship league. Joining the league as a professional talent shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Berezin was able to play with Vyacheslav Kozlov who was born in the same town as Berezin a year later. Although several former Soviet players defected to the NHL before the collapse of the state; many players still faced harsh difficulties in pursuing a professional career in North America.

Berezin’s time would come, as he was drafted in the 10th round (256th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1994 NHL Draft after becoming a point-per-game player in Voskresensk in the now-defunct International Hockey League. After a brief stint in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1994-1996, Berezin finally made his professional debut for the Maple Leafs for the 1996-97 NHL season.

Typically playing in the middle six of Toront’s forward core; Berezin quickly became a key secondary scorer. In his rookie campaign, Berezin scored 25 goals and 41 points in 73 games earning him seventh place in Calder Trophy voting. In the following four years, all with the Maple Leafs, Berezin would score 101 goals and 179 points in total over 284 regular season games. He contributed well for Toronto in the playoffs with 12 goals and 27 points over 40 postseason contests.

Following his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Berezin bounced around through four organizations over the next two seasons. He experienced some revival during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2001-02 season with 18 goals and 31 points in 66 games — but was largely ineffective during his time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals.

Berezin retired from the NHL after the 2002-03 NHL season and spent one more in the Russian Superleague with CSKA Moscow. The Russian forward played in 502 games throughout his NHL tenure and scored 160 goals and 286 points. PHR sends its condolences to Berezin’s family and friends.

Canadiens Looking To Trade For Scoring Forward

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  • Another day has passed, which means another team has been directly linked to Martin Necas. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported yesterday that the Montreal Canadiens are looking to add a scoring forward before next Friday’s NHL Draft, and have been looking into Necas and Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. There are several options available to General Manager Kent Hughes heading into the offseason, outside of just Necas and Zegras. Throughout his tenure as General Manager of the Canadiens organization, Hughes has dived much more into the trade market to improve his club rather than bring in free-agent talent.

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Jean-Francois Houle Resigns As AHL Laval's Head Coach, Hired By Clarkson University

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  • Just weeks after signing him to a three-year contract, Jean-Francois Houle is no longer the head coach with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval. The Canadiens announced on Friday that they’ve agreed to mutually part ways with Houle, allowing him to be hired by Clarkson University for their head coaching position.  It’s a return home of sorts for Houle as he played there and also began his coaching career with them as an assistant before moving on to the QMJHL and then the professional ranks.  With free agency on the horizon, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Montreal try to fill this vacancy before the end of the month.

Lias Andersson Signs With NL’s Biel-Bienne

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June 19: Andersson will indeed be heading to Switzerland, inking a two-year deal with Biel-Bienne that was made official Wednesday. Notably, a two-year deal means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent if he attempts to return to the NHL in 2026, so the Habs issuing him a qualifying offer means nothing unless he opts out of his contract with Biel-Bienne after one season.

June 1: Forward Lias Andersson was once a highly touted prospect after being the seventh overall pick back in 2017.  However, his stock has fallen considerably since then to the point where he didn’t see any NHL action this season.  Now, it appears that he’s opting for a new opportunity as Blick’s Gregory Beaud relays that Andersson is linked to Biel-Bienne in Switzerland for next season.

Beaud adds that some have suggested a deal with the 25-year-old is already in place although GM Martin Steinegger indicated that’s not the case but revealed that he is interested in bringing Andersson to his club for next season.

After spending all but one game in the minors in 2022-23, the Kings elected not to tender Andersson a qualifying offer, resulting in him becoming an unrestricted free agent.  He quickly landed with the Canadiens, inking a one-year, two-way deal with the hope that he’d push for a roster spot with Montreal in training camp.

That didn’t happen.  Instead, he cleared waivers in training camp and was sent down to AHL Laval where he stayed for the entire season.  Andersson had a productive showing for the Rocket, collecting 21 goals and 24 assists in 53 games while missing considerable time due to a lower-body injury.  Despite being one of Laval’s top forwards, Montreal elected not to bring him up at any point of the season.

If a deal with Biel-Bienne ultimately gets done, the Canadiens will still have the option to tender Andersson a qualifying offer which would keep him under club control.  Meanwhile, if Andersson has determined that a regular spot in the NHL isn’t coming his way based on how things have gone in the NHL, perhaps a strong showing overseas could ultimately boost his stock down the road.

Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Canadiens.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Jesse Ylonen – Hoping to build on a solid depth scoring season in 2022-23, Ylonen failed to boost his production in any meaningful way. In fact, he took a step or two back during the 2023-24 campaign while seeing his ice time dip towards the back half of the season. Ylonen saw his point-per-game average drop from 0.43 P/G to 0.14 P/G in only one year. Luckily, this should allow Montreal to keep him close to his previous league-minimum salary of $775K in hopes that he will rebound for the 2024-25 NHL season.

D Arber Xhekaj – Not much of a point producer from the back end, Xhekaj has become a valuable presence on the Canadiens’ blue line. Over the last two years, Xhekaj has scored a total of eight goals and 23 points over 95 games while also delivering 284 hits. However, because of his physicality, Xhekaj has lost quite a few games to injury in his first two years with Montreal, and the team will be hoping he can maintain better health moving forward. He should be able to get a modest raise on his most recent salary of $828K at the NHL level this summer, as Evolving Hockey projects a 2-year, $3MM contract for Xhekaj.

D Justin Barron – Acquired in the trade that sent Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche during the 2022-23 NHL season, Barron could potentially be crowded out of the Canadiens defensive core this summer. Shuffled back-and-forth between Montreal and their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, Barron failed to build on his production this season despite seeing his ice time increase by an average of two minutes. It’s unlikely that the Canadiens will choose not to tender Barron a contract this offseason, but he may start the season in Laval with the team already having a crowded blue line.

Other RFAs: F Lias Andersson, F Filip Cederqvist, D Mattias Norlinder

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Tanner Pearson – After suffering through injuries during the 2022-23 campaign with the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal acquired Pearson last offseason for some much-needed depth scoring. However, Pearson would have one of his worst seasons to date in northeastern Canada, scoring five goals and 13 points through 54 games this year. A few weeks ago, it was announced the Canadiens have no intentions of re-signing Pearson, confirming he will hit the open market this summer.

Other UFAs: F Colin White, D Chris Wideman, F Arnaud Durandeau, F Philippe Maillet, F Mitchell Stephens, D Brady Keeper

Projected Cap Space

Heading into the summer months, the Canadiens organization will have around $9.4MM of cap space to work with, with the ability to go 10% over the upper limit. Once the 2024-25 season starts, the team will place goaltender Carey Price on long-term injured reserve which will open up another $10.5MM to work with during the year.

Unless Montreal can somehow facilitate a trade of Price’s contract this summer, they will have a little wiggle room to add an impact piece in free agency. Defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Juraj Slafkovsky took major steps forward this past season and the organization’s prospect pool should add complimentary pieces shortly. Because of this, Montreal’s sole focus should be moving out bloated but moveable contracts in Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia to increase the organization’s cap flexibility despite Price’s massive salary.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Oliver Kapanen To ELC

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The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Oliver Kapanen to a three-year, entry-level contract that will run through the 2026-27 season. Kapanen was the Canadiens’ second-round selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft (64th overall) and is the cousin of current NHLer Kasperi Kapanen, and the nephew of former NHLer Sami Kapanen.

Kapanen spent last season with KalPa Kuopio in the Liiga where he registered 14 goals and 20 assists in 51 games. The 20-year-old had a very successful playoff run to finish off his season, tying for the points lead with seven goals and seven assists in 13 games. The Timrå, Sweden native was also a member of Finland’s 2024 IIHF World Championship team, leading the team with six goals in eight games.

Kapanen could be given a look at Canadiens training camp this fall and might even be good enough for a role in the team’s bottom six, most likely on the fourth line. However, given how little Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has played his fourth line, it might not be best for Kapanen’s development.

He is signed with Timrå of the SHL for the 2024-25 season and with the team’s lack of forward depth, it might be the best option for Kapanen going forward as he will get consistent ice time to fuel his development. Kapanen projects to be a top-9 center for the Canadiens in the future, but likely won’t develop into the top-line center that the team has coveted for years.

Canadiens Expected To Hire Albie O'Connell

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  • Arizona State University associate coach Albie O’Connell is expected to leave the program to pursue an NHL opportunity, relays PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link). College Hockey News’ Mike McMahon adds (Twitter link) that O’Connell is expected to be hired by the Canadiens.  If that holds true, it will be his second stint with the organization after serving as a college scout for Montreal back in 2022-23 before returning behind an NCAA bench this past season.

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