Canadiens Urged To Tread Carefully

The Montreal Canadiens’ rebuild is progressing as well as one could have expected, or even better than expected. They made it to the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and were just seven wins away from winning the whole thing. Still, their swift dismissal by the Carolina Hurricanes showed that pieces are missing in Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton’s puzzle.

The Habs brass have a long to-do list this summer, which includes finding a real second-line center who will be able to make Ivan Demidov shine, getting a right-shot defenseman who’ll be able to handle top-four minutes and getting some depth on the blueline that coach Martin St-Louis will trust. Those things are easier said than done, and as anyone who follows hockey, or any professional sport, will tell you, you have to give something to get something.

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If the Canadiens do not want to move one of their core pieces, such as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, or Noah Dobson, they’ll likely have to open up the prospect cupboard. One of the names that has been floating around of late is Alexander Zharovsky, the team’s second-round pick and first selection in the 2025 draft.

In an episode of The Sick Podcast on Tuesday night, Tony Marinaro’s guest Craig Button urged the Canadiens to tread carefully when it came to the idea of trading Zharvosky, given how close Demidov is to the youngster.

It’s a valid point. After all, from day one, the Canadiens have involved Demidov when it came to Zharovsky. Hughes called the youngster before drafting his countrymen and asked him about his work ethic. The Habs have been selling their top guys on the fact that they are all building something together; that’s how they’ve managed to get so many players to sign team-friendly deals. That’s also how Hutson ended up speaking to Demidov about how important it is to stay long-term to build a winner, and that’s how the young Russian finds himself playing a mentoring role for Zharovsky.

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Demidov has said that he’ll be spending a significant amount of time with the prospect this summer, training with him, showing him around the city, and even having him stay at his home. Letting Demidov handle those responsibilities is a great way to make him feel like he’s part of the group putting this team together. Slafkovsky really blossomed this past season when he was put on a line with Demidov and Oliver Kapanen and had to take charge, take ownership, and lead it.

Having Demidov play that role this summer is big for the team’s culture and the player’s development; that’s why Button’s comment makes sense. If Demidov spends his summer essentially grooming Zharovsky to become a part of the Canadiens’ core, it would be tough for him to see his childhood friend and summer assignment leave. This is not a Slafkovsky-Mesar kind of situation. Zharovsky shows far more promise than Mesar ever did, and Demidov is a year older than Zharovsky. Slafkovsky was brought into the fold at the same time as Mesar and was never asked to be his guide and mentor.