The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Patrik Laine will be sidelined for 2-3 months due to a sprained left knee suffered during last Saturday’s preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite the setback, Laine considers himself fortunate, describing the injury as “dodging a bullet” as it won’t require surgery.
Patrik Laine on why he opted not to have knee surgery:
“It was one of those you could go either way. I don’t think there’s ever any guarantees whether you do surgery or not…they did a good job of explaining the whole process and reassuring the chances are very high, that made… pic.twitter.com/xTXU4s9rwG
— Kenzie Lalonde (@KenzieTSN) October 3, 2024
Laine revealed that he made the final decision to skip surgery after consulting multiple doctors. “It was one of those situations where you could go either way,” Laine explained. “The doctors did a good job of explaining the whole process and reassuring me. In the end, I chose rehab over surgery because it’s my knee, after all.”
While Laine will miss the start of the 2024-25 regular season, the Canadiens are hopeful that his decision to focus on rehab will lead to a full recovery. He remains optimistic about his return, stating, “The chances are very high that I’ll be back and better.”
Laine Doesn’t Blame Paré for Nasty Collision
During the game, Laine collided with Toronto’s Cedric Paré, who reached out to apologize after the incident. Laine appreciated the gesture and emphasized that he doesn’t hold any grudges against Paré. “I kind of put myself in a bad spot to begin with,” Laine admitted. “He texted me afterwards, and I respect him for that.”
Fans still aren’t happy that Laine will be out, but many are grateful that this wasn’t worse. It looked awful when it happened and early speculation was that he could miss a lot longer than three months. His teammate David Reinbacher wasn’t as fortunate, as he’ll be out months after having surgery.
The Canadiens will need to adapt without one of their top scorers and they will likely lean on other forwards to fill the scoring gap in Laine’s absence. This injury is certainly a setback and the hope is that the Canadiens can dodge a bullet too and remain above water while Laine is out.
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