Canadiens’ Ivan Demidov out two-to-four weeks with lower-body injury

The Montreal Canadiens will be without one of their most skilled players for the foreseeable future.

The team announced Tuesday that forward Ivan Demidov will be out two-to-four weeks with a lower-body injury.

The news comes one day after Demidov, 20, missed practice due to what the Canadiens called a “therapy day.”

In two games this season, Demidov has a goal and assist. The 20-year-old Russian is coming off a rookie campaign in 2025-26 that saw him score 19 goals and record 43 assists for 62 points. He also had three goals and six assists for nine points in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Canadiens reach the Eastern Conference Final.

In the offseason, Montreal signed Demidov to an eight-year, $73.2-million contract extension that carries an average annual value of $9.15 million. According to PuckPedia, the Canadiens have Demidov, captain Nick Suzuki, forwards Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, as well as defensemen Lake Hutson, Noah Dobson and Kaiden Guhle signed through the 2029-30 season.

The Canadiens selected Demidov with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. While playing with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia’s KHL in 2024-25, he scored 19 goals and had 30 assists for 49 points in 65 games. During the previous season with St. Petersburg’s junior team in the MHL, Demidov had 23 goals and 37 assists for 60 points in just 30 games.

Through two games in 2026-27, Montreal is 1-1-1 with three points. They opened the season with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, then dropped a 6-5 decision in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On Tuesday, the Canadiens host the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in their home opener.