VANCOUVER — There might be nothing more political in an NHL dressing room than power-play time.

Track record matters. Service time matters. But, perhaps most of all, talent matters. And that comes down to the ultimate thing that matters, which is winning.

Putting Ivan Demidov on the Montreal Canadiens’ top power-play unit has been obvious since training camp, much like putting Lane Hutson on the top power-play unit was obvious since last season’s training camp. But it didn’t happen for Hutson until 20 games had gone by last season, and there was a valid reason for that.

The Canadiens had Mike Matheson in that spot, a respected veteran with a letter on his sweater who had done the job admirably one year prior. Taking that job away from a respected veteran to hand it to an NHL rookie was not a simple decision for Martin St. Louis to make.

Same goes for Demidov this season.

But in this case, Demidov’s insertion on the top power-play unit impacted the captain, Nick Suzuki, because that top unit largely ran through him, and with Demidov on the top unit, it would be running through Suzuki far less.

Again, this is as much of a hockey decision as it is a political decision, a room management decision.

But, again, winning matters more than anything else. And it’s quickly become obvious — far quicker than it was with Hutson last year — that putting Demidov on the top unit would help the Canadiens win.

It didn’t Thursday night in Edmonton, when Demidov was first placed on that top unit and the Canadiens lost 6-5. But it most definitely did Saturday night, when Demidov set up power-play goals by Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovský that turned a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 tie, and Demidov scored what turned out to be the game-winner at even strength in a 4-3 win.

At a certain point, wins and losses become more important than power-play politics. And in Demidov’s case, that point came very early.

“Guys respect skill and the stuff that he has, even though he’s a rookie,” Suzuki said. “It’s not like no one else is ever going to touch the puck. We’re out there, he’s always looking for us and we’re looking for him.

“I mean, as long as we’re cooking, everyone’s happy.”

Is there a more just hockey mantra than that? If hockey players cook, hockey players are happy. Simple as that.

If you look through Demidov’s assists this season, there are numerous examples of easy goals, easy opportunities for players to cook and be happy.

There was a tap-in for Alex Newhook in the home opener.

NOTRE PREMIER À LA MAISON CETTE SAISON

NEWY’S GOT OUR FIRST AT HOME#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/IeS8L7sb5K

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 14, 2025

There was an open net one-timer for Suzuki against the New York Rangers.

PREMIER BUT DE LA SAISON POUR SPOOKY SUZUKI 👻

SPOOKY SUZUKI GETS HIS FIRST OF THE SZN#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/PD4GAKg2Zv

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 18, 2025

There was Oliver Kapanen cleaning up on a Demidov attack against the Buffalo Sabres.

Mention spéciale à Carsy

It’s Kappy hour, stay a while#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/CUWms99X8y

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 21, 2025

There was Matheson getting a backdoor tap-in for the overtime winner in Calgary on Wednesday.

MIKE DÉCIDE DE L’ISSUE DU MATCH

MIKE CALLS GAME#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/qh8mwgro2h

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 23, 2025

Including the empty nets Suzuki and Slafkovský had Saturday against the Canucks off Demidov passes, that’s six of his seven assists this season being directly responsible for the goals that were scored.

It’s not hard for teammates to respect that.

“I think it was kind of the plan all along,” Suzuki said of the decision to put Demidov on the first power play. “You just try to ease him into the NHL, get him his touches. It’s been running off my side a lot more, so he doesn’t touch it as much as he was on the other unit. But we can run it off both sides. It’s just a progression. I think Marty just didn’t want him to get thrown into that right away.”

And then, Suzuki laughed.

“But I think everyone kind of predicted it was coming at some point.”

Demidov had a goal and two assists in a 4-3 win against the Canucks the Canadiens might not have fully deserved. They had their worst start of the season and were lucky to only be down 1-0 after the first period. They barely hung on after giving up a six-on-five goal in the final five minutes.

But coming off a loss in Edmonton they didn’t necessarily deserve either, this seemed to balance that out.

From a big picture standpoint, however, this game demonstrated the extent to which doing the obvious thing, putting Demidov on the first power play and allowing it to dictate the outcome of games, could be a game-changer for the Canadiens this season. They had their B-game Saturday night, and pulled out a win because a 19-year-old game-changer was elevated to a position where he had space and talented teammates to finish his plays.

We saw what Demidov can do with space when he set up Matheson for that overtime winner in Calgary. St. Louis has seen it too, but he didn’t want to just hand this plum job to Demidov without him proving he had earned it. That would have played poorly in the room, but it had become so obvious to everyone in that room that not putting Demidov in a position to be the game-changer he was Saturday night would have had the opposite effect.

The room would have been wondering why they were being deprived of something they want more than anything, which is wins.

“I felt I got to a certain point with Demi where he showed me he’s willing to play on the other side of the game, the defensive game, and he’s bought in and is actually very attentive and trying to keep getting better,” St. Louis said. “So to me, it was all signs led to, ‘OK, it’s time.’ And also it allows me to give him a little more ice time.”

This might have been an obvious decision for St. Louis and for anyone watching Demidov play this season, but it’s not that simple. No one knows better than St. Louis how the politics of power play time plays in the room, how that needs to be earned so it plays well.

The fact that moment came so quickly says a lot about what kind of player Demidov is, how he can make a difference, and how his teammates don’t care if his difference-making ability takes away from their own opportunities.

Because those abilities will allow them to win, just as it did Saturday night when they didn’t have their A-game.

And that’s more powerful than anything.