The Canadiens turned the CN Sports Complex into a closed shop on Wednesday morning, and that move immediately sharpened the focus on Ivan Demidov.
Access was blocked ahead of practice, with a security guard stopping entry until 11 a.m. This wasn’t a case of players asking for privacy during the offseason. The organization made the call itself, and even guests who had been specifically invited were kept out.
Journalist Maxime Truman said the restrictions went beyond the usual crowd control.
"The Canadiens have indeed denied access to the Bell Centre before 10:00 a.m. (practice at 11:30 a.m.) to fans, as well as to media members and military personnel specially invited for the event."
That decision lands at a time when every detail around Demidov is being watched. The forward is still on the injured list, with November 7 listed as his earliest possible return date. He has appeared in only 2 games this season, but he’s already produced a goal and an assist, and his 66 points in 86 career games have made his recovery a major talking point.
The intrigue only grew after footage surfaced yesterday of Demidov skating in a tracksuit at the Bell Centre. The video was taken without authorization, and according to our information, the person responsible was questioned. What happens next is unclear.
That clip came after reports that Demidov had been working off the ice while wearing a therapeutic boot on his right foot.
The lack of a firm update has left room for speculation. On October 26, Eric Engels suggested Demidov could return by November 3, which would have fit within the original recovery window. But four weeks after Montreal announced he would miss 2 to 4 weeks, the silence has become part of the story.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, have been winning. They sit sixth overall in the NHL and second in the Atlantic Division at 9-3-3, and they’ve gone 7-1-2 over their last 10 games. Still, the conversation around the team has shifted away from results and toward how tightly the organization is controlling access and information.
"Unlike this summer, when the players wanted some peace and quiet during their time off, today’s decision came from the organization."
With Montreal set to face Utah on Thursday, the next question is whether Demidov will finally be cleared to return.
In Other News...
Canadiens Bench Had A Telling Reaction To Arber Xhekajs Fight
Arber Xhekaj gave the Canadiens a jolt in their game against the Winnipeg Jets when he won a fight and brought the whole bench to its feet. The reaction said plenty about how his teammates viewed the moment, with the celebration spilling all the way down the bench and even drawing in goaltender Jacob Fowler as the group saluted the energy Xhekaj supplied.
It turned into a frustrating finish for Montreal anyway, as Winnipeg erased a late deficit to tie the game and then won in overtime. Still, the scene around Xhekajs fight was one of the nights clearer snapshots of the Canadiens identity, and it comes at a time when they are trying to carry that edge forward into their next matchup against Utah. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Turned A Comfortable Win Into A Serious Warning Sign
For most of the night, Montreal had the kind of result that can settle a team down. The Canadiens built a 4-0 lead against Winnipeg and had enough going to feel in control, with Jacob Fowler turning aside 42 of 47 shots and Josh Anderson extending his scoring streak with a goal.
Then the game got away in a hurry, and the warning sign is hard to miss. A comfortable win turned into a loss in overtime, the kind of collapse that lingers because it raises bigger questions about closing out games, protecting leads and whether Montreal can trust its structure when the pressure spikes late. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Face One Huge Kucherov Question As Tampa Drama Grows
Nikita Kucherov keeps doing what he has always done best, which is making the Lightning harder to beat even as the noise around him grows louder. He set up two goals in a recent win over the Detroit Red Wings, a reminder that the trade speculation swirling around him has not changed his edge on the ice. For Montreal, the rumors are easy to follow because a player of his caliber would instantly reshape any conversation about the roster, but the reality remains that Tampa Bay is still getting elite production from a star who is very much in the middle of a winning team.
That is what makes this such a tricky situation for Julien Brisebois. The Lightning are undefeated at home, the standings are helping keep the focus on the ice, and yet the front office still has to manage a trade request from one of the leagues most important players without letting the season drift off course. For the Canadiens, the intrigue is obvious, but until the next move is made, the story is less about a deal than about how long Tampa can keep winning while one of its biggest names sits at the center of the drama. [Read more 🡒]