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Patrik Laine will play his first regular-season game as a member of the Montreal Canadiens when the New York Islanders visit the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, the team announced.
The finnish forward was expected to miss 2-3 months after spraining his left knee on a hit from Toronto Maple Leafs' Cedric Pare during a preseason game on September 28 — and he's right on schedule.
“If somebody plays here and doesn't get fired up I think there's something wrong with them, so I don't think that should be an issue,” Laine said of his impending debut in hockey's most storied city, per NHL.com's Sean Farrell. “I think the crowd will be buzzing as always and hopefully as we play and with the way we play tonight we're going to excite them even more.”
The 26-year-old continued: “I was kind of hoping I could start playing at home. I probably could have played last week but I wanted to get some more practices in and make sure I'm ready to go when I'm finally playing, but it will be cool to obviously start playing here. I've been watching too many games upstairs now, so I'm sure it will be great.”
Laine began skating on November 6 and practiced with the team for the first time just over two weeks later. He's set to play on a line with Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky in Montreal's top-six.
Patrik Laine will try to help Canadiens get out of basement
After a challenging 2023-24 campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Laine was traded from Ohio to Quebec on August 19. He managed just six goals and nine points in 18 games last season; he broke his clavicle in December and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program the next month.
He was cleared on July 26, and traded to the Canadiens not long after. For a team that is 8-13-3 and dead last in the Eastern Conference, Laine's return couldn't have come at a better time. The hope is that the winger will be able to turn things around with a change of scenery.
The former 44-goal scorer has two seasons remaining on his contract, which will pay the Finn $8.7 million through 2025-26.
“You felt the excitement from the fans but he was excited too,” Habs head coach Martin St. Louis said of Laine's preseason presence, per Farrell. “I know it was short lived, and I think he's excited again tonight. I think he had an opportunity to really see how we want to play and I'm sure when he's watching games from the top he can see himself in our concept.
“It's not because you're watching that you're not getting better, so I think he's more prepared now to attack whatever he wants to attack within our team concept because he's watched enough.”
Over 480 career regular-season games split between the Winnipeg Jets and Blue Jackets, Laine has managed 204 goals and 388 points. He'll look to improve on those totals with the Canadiens when puck drops at the Bell Centre just past 7:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.
