A tricky begin to the season for Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine simply acquired even more durable. The group announced that he has undergone surgical procedure to restore a core muscle damage. Because of this, he’ll miss the subsequent three to 4 months.
Each of Patrik Laine’s seasons in Montreal impacted by damage
That is Laine’s second season with Montreal after he was acquired from Columbus within the 2024 offseason. It’s additionally now the second straight season that he has suffered a major damage early on. Final season, a preseason knee damage value him a few months of motion, and this one might hold him out for twice as lengthy.
Whereas Laine acquired by way of coaching camp wholesome this time, it didn’t take lengthy for him to drop down the depth chart. Whereas he began the yr on Montreal’s second line, he was right down to fourth-line minutes at five-on-five inside a few weeks. Because of this, he was restricted to only one help by way of 5 video games whereas averaging simply 12:36 per evening, a profession low in that regard. He didn’t accompany the group on its four-game Western highway journey whereas getting a second opinion on his damage; clearly, that second opinion concurred with the primary with him present process surgical procedure quickly after.
Final season, Laine made a right away affect when he returned to the lineup, tallying 15 power-play targets. In doing so, he was among the many league leaders in that regard regardless of lacking 29 video games whereas he helped Montreal’s energy play get nearer to the center of the pack. Nevertheless, his enjoying time and effectiveness waned down the stretch and into the playoffs, the place he was injured partway by way of their sequence in opposition to Washington.
Patrik Laine’s future earnings could possibly be negatively affected
It is a contract yr for Laine, who carries a cap cost of $8.7M, tops amongst Canadiens forwards. It’s honest to say his hopes of an enormous payday subsequent summer time have taken one other hit as he’ll now miss greater than half the season; that, coupled together with his struggles at full power, don’t bode effectively for him on the open market.
That stated, as a result of he ought to wind up lacking 100 days due to this damage and has greater than 400 profession NHL appearances, Laine needs to be eligible for a one-year contract with efficiency incentives subsequent summer time. That is likely to be the most effective path to go for him, one that will permit him to maximise his compensation ought to he keep wholesome whereas offering the signing group — be it Montreal or another person in free company — with much less danger in signing him.
For the Canadiens, since they’ve over $4M in cap house for the time being per PuckPedia, an LTIR placement wouldn’t make any sense for them. Since Laine is anticipated to return this season, the utmost quantity of LTIR house they might amass is $3.82M, not his full cap cost so, barring a rash of additional accidents, don’t anticipate him to be moved to LTIR. As of but, the Canadiens haven’t moved him to common injured reserve though that’s merely a formality for every time they should open up a roster spot.
