Habs Aggressively Shopping Patrik Laine According To Reports

Kypreos’ news came just before the NHL’s trade freeze at 3:00 pm ET for the Olympics, which means that the Habs missed their first opportunity to get a deal done, but they will be working hard to make sure a trade gets done after the NHL returns from the Olympics.

Laine has not played since the 5th game of the season against the Nashville Predators, where it was announced soon after the game that he would miss 4 months due to a sports hernia injury that would require surgery. The 4-month mark from the date of the game passed on January 16th, and while other injured players who were injured long-term have returned to the lineup, Laine was never activated to play despite practicing with the team in a full-contact jersey for the past 2 weeks.

It is very possible that Laine was healthy enough to return to the lineup, but due to the lack of fit that the Finnish forward seemed to have during the first couple games of the season that he played, along with the fact that he would be behind the speed of the game, the Habs decided it may be best for the team to keep him out of the lineup, as the overall chemistry has been good lately. Another possibility is that since Laine is prone to getting injured and the plan is that they want to trade him to clear his salary off the books, they may feel that keeping him away from game action is the safest thing to do to make sure they can find a deal.

It’s clear that the Canadiens have accepted the fact that they won’t get any value by trading him, and their plan is just to clear the cap. Part of the reason for that is since Laine got injured, the Canadiens took on the contract of Phillip Danault and his $5.5 million cap hit, which would bring the Canadiens over the cap if they do in fact activate Laine from injury reserve. Therefore, the solution is to trade Laine so that they can stay under the cap without needing to do any salary gymnastics going forward.

Trading Laine’s contract could also allow the Habs to add something for their playoff push before the March 6th trade deadline. While Laine’s time in Montreal was very rocky, there was a period that his production on the power play helped them surprisingly reach the 2025 NHL Playoffs. Unfortunately for the 2025-26 season, he struggled out of the gate (it is very possible he got injured in the preseason and was only shut down for 4 months after they got a 2nd opinion), and then he just could never find a spot in the lineup, making his time in Montreal end on a sour note.

Even if the Canadiens don’t trade him right after the Olympic break, based on how things are going, don’t expect Laine to play again for the Habs.