Ivan Demidov: no reason to worry in the long term, says Elliotte Friedman

Of necessity, people around the Habs are holding their breath right now. Why? Because, even though Alexandre Carrier has said that all is well with the Habs in terms of health, the fact remains that Ivan Demidov's axing is getting a lot of attention, and his excellent game yesterday ended quickly because of this:

This is the play that sent Ivan Demidov to the locker room shortly after.

He did not return. This has no place in hockey, let alone a preseason game.pic.twitter.com/s6xp2RM6fJ– Habs Digest (@HabsDigest) October 1, 2025

Elliotte Friedman, on the subject, brought some clarification to the matter. According to what he's heard, the Canadiens shouldn't expect to have to deal with a long-term injury in the case of the Russian, which is good news, since there was still some uncertainty. content-ads]

Don't believe there's any long-term injury concern for Demidov after the slash he took last night https://t.co/Jk8bwnfCE9

– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 1, 2025

If Ivan Demidov is ever able to start the season without a sore wrist, it will be great news for the player and for the club. As the Habs have today off, we shouldn't expect any official update in his case. But the Habs will still have to be cautious. After all, the wrist or hand of such a talented player is an important working tool. So much the better if all goes well.

'prolongation'

According to what Marco D'Amico has said, the Canadiens shouldn't necessarily play Demidov on Saturday against Ottawa. But nothing's set in stone either. # The

expectation is that Ivan Demidov doesn't have a serious injury, but the Habs will play it with caution.

Not likely to play Saturday and give his wrist time to heal in time for next week's season opener against Toronto. If he does play Saturday, then it's gravy – Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) October 1, 2025