The Canadiens may be rethinking their plans for Ivan Demidov
The Montreal Canadiens may be preparing a bold position switch for Ivan Demidov heading into the offseason, with reports Monday suggesting the idea of converting him to center is not dead.
The report, circulated Monday afternoon clarifies that the Canadiens don't necessarily need to acquire a pivot on the trade market this summer.
If GM Kent Hughes lands a high-impact winger instead, the organization may turn to Demidov at center as an experiment.
That's not a minor footnote. That's a franchise-altering decision.
Interesting! If the #CH manages to acquire an impact winger (instead of a center) this summer, trying out Demidov at center is still a possibility.
He certainly has some great qualities that could serve him well at center: his exceptional vision, the fact that he's made significant progress over the full 200 feet this season. Faceoffs that's something to work on! ;)
Stay tuned!
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Demidov finished his first NHL season at 20 years old with 19 goals and 43 assists for 62 points in 82 games, playing as a winger.
He added 3 goals and 6 assists across 19 playoff games before Montreal was eliminated by Carolina.
His vision and two-way development at 200 feet are the main arguments being floated internally for the switch.
Demidov at center: high ceiling, real risk for Kent Hughes
Think of it like moving a gifted wide receiver to quarterback. The vision is there. The instincts are there. But the faceoff dot, defensive-zone responsibility, and positional reads are a completely different job.
Faceoffs alone are something that can take years to develop at the NHL level.
His cap hit of $940,833 means the Canadiens have enormous flexibility to build around him regardless of where he plays.
Coach Martin St-Louis built his system around skill and mobility, so there's logic to exploring the idea on paper.
But the playoffs exposed some real gaps. Demidov went minus-1 in 19 postseason games and managed just 2 points over his final 5 games of the playoff run.
Moving him to center mid-development is a gamble that could delay his offensive output rather than expand it.
The Canadiens ended the regular season 48-24-10 with 106 points and a goal differential of plus-27. That's a team built to compete, not rebuild.
Hughes has a first-round pick to work with, and the wing market in the summer could offer quicker answers than a position switch on a 20-year-old.
Whether Demidov eventually becomes a center remains an open question. Whether now is the right time to find out is a much harder one.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||