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The Montreal Canadiens announced that after speaking with forward Zack Kassian’s agent, the club asked Kassian not to report to their AHL affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps.

Kassian was placed on waivers Dec. 15 — which he later cleared — after the NHL and the NHL Players Association announced that he had completed stage two of its substance abuse and behavioural health program and was now in the followup care phase.

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He was placed in the program following an early morning single-car accident on Oct. 4 in which he suffered a fractured foot and broken nose. Two others in the vehicle suffered minor injuries.

The Canadiens acquired Kassian from the Vancouver Canucks for veteran Brandon Prust this summer. He has yet to play a regular season game for Montreal.

CBC’s Elliotte Friedman reported that a trade is a possibility and that a few teams may be interested.

Friedman said teams are doing their background checks on Kassian and that one team to keep an eye on is the San Jose Sharks.

Sharks assistant coach Bob Boughner coached Kassian in Windsor during the 2009-10 season.