Ivan Demidov was released from the final six weeks of his contract with SKA Saint Petersburg, which will allow him to join the Montreal Canadiens for the end of the NHL season, the KHL club announced Tuesday.
Thank you, Ivan 👏
SKA and Ivan Demidov have taken a joint decision which will see the forward join the Montreal Canadiens this season. His KHL rights will remain with SKA. He will return to Saint Petersburg if he doesn’t gain a foothold in the NHL. pic.twitter.com/CsyMPKvE7k
— SKA Ice Hockey Club (@hcSKA_News) April 8, 2025
Demidov, the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, had 19 goals and 49 points in 65 games with SKA this season, setting a new KHL record for a U20 player in one season, easily beating out Kirill Kaprizov (42 points in 2016-17), Matvei Michkov (41 points in 2023-24) and Evgeni Kuznetsov (41 points in 2011-12).
Demidov added five points in six playoff games for SKA, who were eliminated from the KHL playoffs Sunday.
The Canadiens have not yet confirmed the news.
After the Canadiens face the Detroit Red Wings at home on Tuesday, they will have four games left in the NHL regular season. They enter the game against the Red Wings holding the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a six-point lead on both the Red Wings and the New York Rangers.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Maksim Konstantinov / Getty Images)
