-
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine will miss the next two to three months while he continues to recover from a sprained left knee, the team announced Tuesday.
Laine suffered the injury Saturday during the first period in his team’s 2-1 preseason loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Laine was skating into the Leafs’ zone when his left knee was part of a knee-on-knee hit with Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare.
Replays showed Laine’s left knee bent backward during the collision and he immediately fell to the ice before appearing to grab that knee. Pare was not assessed a penalty but eventually fought Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj with Xhekaj repeatedly punching Pare in the head. Xhekaj was given a minor penalty and a 10-minute misconduct for instigating, a major penalty for fighting and a game misconduct. On Sunday, the department of player safety announced it fined Xhekaj the maximum amount — $3,385.42 — for unsportsmanlike conduct.
On Monday, Laine showed up to the Canadiens’ practice where he was on crutches. A day later, the team announced that he would not require surgery as part of his recovery.
Missing Laine for at least the first two months of the season comes after the Canadiens acquired him in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets in August that sent defenseman Jordan Harris and a 2026 second-round pick in the other direction.
Laine’s time in Columbus was believed to be coming to an end. Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell confirmed those beliefs after he told TSN 1050 in Toronto that Laine spoke with him about not wanting to play for the franchise within days of the trade.
Getting Laine came with a few moving parts. The first being that the Canadiens added a 26-year-old who was already a six-time 20-goal scorer packed inside of a 6-foot-5 frame who also had two years remaining on his contract worth $8.7 million annually.
Another was what it meant for their short-term aspirations. Since they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, the Canadiens have undergone a rebuild. They’ve missed the playoffs for three straight seasons but have continued to make strides under head coach and Hall of Fame winger Martin St. Louis.
St. Louis, who took the job in February 2022, has shaped a young roster that went from 68 points in his first full season to one that finished with 76 points in 2023-24. He has created the belief that an 80-point campaign could be in reach in 2024-25.
Trading for Laine only added to those plans. His arrival meant the Canadiens had another top-six option in a group that also included Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, who was the No. 1 pick of the 2022 NHL draft.
Montreal concludes the preseason with two games against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday and Saturday before opening the regular season Oct. 9 against the Maple Leafs.