The Canadiens May Have Found the Trick Nobody Talks About

Something interesting is happening in Montreal, and it has less to do with any one player than with how the Canadiens are putting it all together. A recent Daily Faceoff discussion pointed out something that can get lost when everyone is talking about enormous NHL contracts: Montreal has locked up a young group of important players at numbers that could look pretty attractive a few years from now.

Let's look at some of the Canadiens’ contracts.

Nick Suzuki is at $7.8 million. Cole Caufield is at $7.8 million. Juraj Slafkovsky is at $7.6 million. Ivan Demidov is coming in at $9 million starting in 2027-28. Those aren't small numbers, of course. But that's not really the point. The point is that Montreal appears to be betting on what these players will become rather than simply paying for what they have already accomplished.

That’s pretty important: if Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky and Demidov continue developing, those contracts could give the Canadiens something every NHL team wants: room to build around their best players. And that’s where this gets interesting. Montreal isn't just collecting young talent. The young talent is growing up together. How much better than that could it get?

The Canadiens are a team, not a collection of individuals.

Hockey teams are funny things. You can put five talented players on the ice and still not have much of a team. At some point, players have to learn each other's games. They have to understand what the coach expects. They have to figure out who they are when things aren't going well.

The Canadiens seem to be getting that part done while their players are still young. Suzuki is already established. Caufield has become a major offensive weapon. Slafkovsky is still figuring out just how good he can be. Demidov is the really intriguing piece because he hasn't even reached his ceiling yet.

Now add the organizational confidence that comes from knowing what these players will cost. That’s the trick.

The Canadiens probably know right now what their core will cost.

The Canadiens don't have to guess what their core will cost every summer. They have some certainty. That allows management to look down the road instead of constantly worrying about the next contract. Plenty can still go wrong. Young players don't always develop in straight lines, and contracts that look smart today can look very different three years from now.

But Montreal has put itself in a fascinating position. The Canadiens aren't simply getting better because their young players are getting better. They're getting better together.

And if that continues, Montreal could be one of those teams that suddenly seems to arrive almost overnight. Except it won't really be overnight. They've been building this for a while.