- Patrik Laine said he could have returned to play as early as January
- The pending UFA stayed on IR through the regular season and playoffs
- Watch the video of Laine’s full end-of-season media availability below
Patrik Laine probably could have suited up for the Habs months ago. He just didn’t.
Speaking Monday at the team’s end-of-season media availability, the 28-year-old winger said he was healthy enough to come back from his core muscle surgery as early as January. The Canadiens kept him on IR anyway, all the way through the playoffs and a five-game Eastern Conference Final loss to Carolina.
Laine talked about the timeline:
“I think I could have come back pretty early. But it’s just one of those things when you have surgeries and stuff, you don’t always feel 100%. I probably could have played pretty soon after New Year’s, but also you don’t want to rush anything and go to play too early and then you’ll take a step back and then it takes longer. So kind of wanted to be more and more cautious with that.”
Watch the full video of his media session:
The Finnish winger got into just five games to open the 2025-26 season before going under the knife. He never returned. Montreal leaned on its younger group and rode them all the way to the ECF before the Hurricanes ended the run.
Now Laine is set to hit unrestricted free agency in July, and with Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov, and a stacked young core ahead of him on the Habs’ priority list, his fit was always going to be the question.
He sounded ready to move on:
“I’m just excited where the wind takes me next year. But I’m excited to see new opportunities and see where it goes. I’m not too worried about it right now. Just right now, take a little breather and relax, and then get back at it.”
For a guy who once put up 44 goals as a 19-year-old in Winnipeg, this was a strange ending to a strange year.
