There is a difference between having good young players and having a young core that actually believes in the same thing.

The Montreal Canadiens are starting to look like the second one.

Over the last couple of days, Kent Hughes did not just hand out contracts. He sent a message. Ivan Demidov is locked in. Jakub Dobes is locked in. Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Noah Dobson — the core is no longer some blurry future idea fans are trying to talk themselves into.

It is here.

And the biggest part of this story is not just the money. It is the buy-in.

Demidov’s new deal is the headline. The Canadiens announced an eight-year, $73.2 million extension that begins in 2027-28 and runs through 2034-35. For a 20-year-old who just led NHL rookies with 62 points, including 19 goals and 43 assists, that is serious money. It is also the kind of contract that could look very friendly if Demidov becomes the player Montreal believes he can be.

That is the point.

Demidov could have played this differently. He could have waited. He could have chased every last dollar as the cap keeps climbing. He could have put pressure on the organization and turned this into a long, uncomfortable negotiation.

Instead, he signed early. He gave Montreal certainty. He gave Hughes a number to build around.

And his own words made it pretty clear where his head is at. Demidov said, “Money never going to be over hockey,” and also pointed directly at the group around him, saying “everyone wants to win the Cup.”

That is what Canadiens fans should love most.

This is not a veteran at the end of his career trying to chase one last ring. This is a young star with leverage choosing stability, choosing Montreal, and choosing the group. That matters.

Hughes said Demidov understands the Canadiens’ salary structure and called him “a team player.” He also said the goal now is to give this group the “best chance to win.”

That is where the pressure shifts.

Because if your stars are taking less than they probably could have pushed for, management has to reward that. You cannot ask players to buy in, then waste the savings. You cannot have Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Hutson, Dobson, Demidov and now Dobes all sitting there on controlled deals and then move like a team still stuck in a rebuild.

At some point, the front office has to go from patient to dangerous.

Dobes’ extension makes the picture even more interesting. Montreal signed him to a three-year deal through 2029-30 with an AAV of $5,357,575. He earned it, too. Dobes went 29-10-4 with a 2.78 goals-against average and .901 save percentage, then played all 19 playoff games as Montreal reached the Eastern Conference Final.

For a goalie who started the year as part of the bigger picture and ended it as one of the biggest reasons the Canadiens went deep, that is a major commitment.

His quotes made the theme even louder. Dobes said he can now “focus on hockey” and try to “win a championship in Montreal.” He also said the group is on the same page and that he is proud everyone is staying together.

That is not throwaway contract-day talk. That is the language of a room that knows what is forming.

Montreal has been waiting a long time for this kind of structure. Not just one star. Not just one prospect. Not just one lucky playoff run. A real core. A group with age, talent, contracts, and hunger lining up at the same time.

Now comes the hard part.

This is when teams either take advantage of their window or admire it until it closes. The Canadiens have done the difficult work of getting their core to believe. The players have bought in. Some of them have left money on the table compared to what they might have chased elsewhere or later. They have given Montreal flexibility.

Now Hughes has to turn that flexibility into a Stanley Cup roster.

Because this is the bargain Montreal is making with its players.

You take a little less.

You stay together.

We give you a real chance to win.

For years, Canadiens fans talked about the future. Now the future is wearing red, white and blue, signing long-term, and saying the right things for all the right reasons.

The window is not someday anymore.

It is opening.