Ivan Demidov wasn't on the ice in Brossard again on Thursday morning, which makes two straight Canadiens practices he has missed.
Renaud Lavoie had it first. Anthony Martineau and Patrick Guillet reported the same thing within a minute of each other.
The session looked nearly full otherwise, Guillet said. Demidov was the only name missing from it.
None of the three offered a reason. Neither has the club.
That's where this sits right now. Two absences, three reporters, zero explanation attached to any of it.
He's 20 years old and coming off a 62-point season. Montreal cannot afford to be relaxed about that.
He scored in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win at the Bell Centre and dressed again on Monday against Ottawa.
Ivan Demidov misses second straight Canadiens practice with no explanation
Montreal has to submit its final 23 before 5 p.m. on Monday. That's four days from this morning.
Hughes is also trying to move Samuel Montembeault and listening on Kirby Dach at the same time.
Jimmy Murphy has several sources saying the club wants the goaltender gone before the season starts.
Three goalies are still on the books. Hughes has said plainly he won't open the year carrying all of them.
Demidov sits on a $940,833 cap hit, which is the cheapest thing on that roster doing serious work.
Alexandre Texier is reportedly losing ground in the same camp. Florian Xhekaj has been forcing the issue since day one.
Ottawa on Saturday, the roster on Monday, Toronto on Tuesday to open the season.
Montreal is 3-0 through the exhibition schedule with Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson producing.
None of that gets sorted cleanly while one of the best young forwards in the organization is off the ice.
Two days is nothing in September. Two days this close to a roster deadline is something else.
So how long before somebody says a word? Watching a player miss consecutive skates with no explanation works like a delayed flight with no announcement. The longer the silence runs, the worse everyone assumes.
St-Louis will get asked today. The answer either ends this quietly or turns it into the biggest story of Montreal's week.
Should the Canadiens be worried about Ivan Demidov missing practices?
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