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Radulov’s agent says his client wants to stay in Montreal beyond this season

Toronto Maple Leafs v Montreal Canadiens

MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 29: Shea Weber #6 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammate Alexander Radulov #47 during the NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on October 29, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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It’s still early in the season, but it looks like the Alexander Radulov signing was one of the best moves of the off-season.

Radulov, who signed a one-year, $5.75 million deal with the Canadiens on July 1st, has fit in nicely with his team, and his agent says his client wants to remain in Montreal beyond this season.

“It’s still too early to talk about the next contract and Alexander is concentrating on his play,” said agent Maxim Moliver, per La Presse (quotes have been translated). “He wants to have a good season so he can show that he’s able to play in this league.

“I don’t see why this relationship can’t continue in the future.”

A few weeks ago, the Canadiens also said it was too early to talk about an extension. After all, players who sign one-year deals can’t officially prolong their contracts until Jan. 1.

Radulov was playing well at with Tomas Plekanec as his center at the beginning of the year, but he seems to have found a great partnership with Montreal’s top center, Alex Galchenyuk.

With players like Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher struggling to produce offense, most nights, it’s been the Galchenyuk, Radulov duo that have stepped up.

“Every player wants a long-term contract,” said Moliver. “Look what happened to Brent Burns...It’s no different for a family man like Alex. If the Canadiens front office wants to approach us about a a new long-term contract, we’ll listen, absolutely.”

Agreeing on a yearly salary probably won’t be much of an issue during negotiations, but finding the right number of years for both sides may be tricky.

How many years would the Canadiens be willing to commit to a guy who’ll be turning 31 next summer?

If he keeps producing like he has been (17 points in 18 games), it’ll be nearly impossible for the Habs not to give in to his contractual demands.

Oh and goals like this certainly won’t hurt his value: