The Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday that Patrik Laine will not require surgery on his left knee and his expected rehab time is 2-3 months. While unfortunate that he’ll be out for 8-12 weeks, this is a much better prognosis than some had originally expected and from the timeline given to teammate David Reinbacher.
Insiders like Elliotte Friedman wrote, “Better news than expected on Laine — good to see.”
The team noted in the statement, “Forward Patrik Laine sustained a sprain to his left knee that will not require surgery. His rehabilitation period is expected to be from two to three months.” This is not Laine’s first injury and his career has been hampered by them.
Laine was the Canadiens’ big summer acquisition, coming over in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had a down season and was struggling with personal mental health issues, and looking for a fresh start it was believed he could find renewed success in Montreal. Unfortunately, he took a nasty knee-on-knee hit in a pre-season game and was helped off the ice. He showed up at practice on Monday but with crutches and a knee brace.
Steve Kouleas noted that Laine is going to be out “for at least the rest of the 2024 calendar year.” He was essentially correct, and it’s fortunate that it won’t be much longer than that, or could be sooner that Laine returns.
The Canadiens will now have to work to try and replace his expected production in the lineup and they likely won’t be using LTIR to help them. The Canadiens will need to ensure they have enough room to bring Laine back onto the roster when he’s healthy. The team is already over the salary cap ceiling, which will require some moves to become cap-compliant.
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