Ivan Demidov has been missing from the Montreal Canadiens lineup for much of the season. Demidov was injured and missed time for the first time in his NHL career.

Now his agent, Dan Milstein, is discussing the injury and giving a timeline for the forward to return to the ice, per Marco D'Amico of Daily Faceoff.

“Ivan is getting ready, probably a few more weeks or so. We will see him back in the lineup. Unfortunately, he had a fractured ankle in the preseason and it was bothering him, but he continued playing for the two games,” Milstein said. “I saw him after the game, the first game of the season in Toronto after the game. He walked up to me and said, ‘Hey, something is bothering me, something's not right.' He goes out, plays the second game, and so we did the MRI; as a matter of fact, a year ago I had the same issue with Artyom Levshunov in Chicago. Those young kids, they just play through pain. So we realized two weeks later that he had an issue that needed medical attention. So hopefully Ivan will be back on the ice in a short while.”

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It was initially reported that Demidov was dealing with a lower body injury and going to be out for two to four weeks. He has already missed over four weeks as the extent of the injury has been determined. Until this missed time this year, Demidov had played every game in his NHL career, including all 82 games in 2025-26. Overall, he has played 86 games with the Habs, scoring 21 goals and adding 45 assists.

Even without Demidov and with the Canadiens dealing with a rash of injuries, they are 9-3-3 on the year. They will host the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.