Ivan Demidov's own agent just admitted he would have structured this Canadiens contract differently.
"If I had it my way, the deal probably would have looked a little different," Dan Milstein told The Gazette this week.
That's an unusually candid thing for an agent to say publicly about his own client's negotiation.
Milstein didn't stop there either. He made clear the eight-year term wasn't really his idea at all.
"Ivan basically said he wanted the eight-year deal," Milstein said. "He wanted it done."
That's the player overruling his own representation on term, a rare dynamic to hear described this openly.
Demidov is coming off a rookie season that more than justified some level of long-term investment from Montreal.
Why Demidov pushing for term himself is the real story
He put up 62 points in 82 games last season, 19 goals and 43 assists, then added 9 more points across 19 playoff games.
Montreal made a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Final on the back of exactly that kind of production from its young core.
Most agents push for shorter bridge deals with young stars, betting on rising value before locking in a number.
Milstein's comments suggest Demidov wanted the opposite, security and term over betting on his own future growth.
That's not necessarily bad business. It's just unusual to hear an agent admit his client overruled that instinct specifically.
Kris Letang recently compared Demidov's game to Pavel Datsyuk, predicting he could be a top-five player within three years.
If that prediction holds even partially true, an eight-year term locks in a number that could look like a bargain fast for Montreal.
If it doesn't, the Canadiens carry that number regardless, exactly the risk Milstein appears to have flagged before signing off on term.
Demidov's current entry-level cap hit sits at $940,833, a number that won't reflect his real market value once this new deal actually kicks in.
Head coach Martin St-Louis now has a 20-year-old locked in long-term, whatever version of Demidov actually shows up over those eight years.
Is a 20-year-old dictating his own contract term to his agent a sign of confidence, or a decision he'll question later?
Either way, Demidov got the term he wanted, and Milstein's comments make clear whose call it actually was.
Was Ivan Demidov right to insist on an eight-year deal against his own agent's advice?
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