Canadiens' Patrik Laine Out 2-3 Months With Sprained Knee Injury; Surgery Not Needed

Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine will be sidelined for "two to three months" with a left knee sprain, the team announced on Tuesday.

The Canadiens noted the injury will not require surgery.

Laine posted on social media Tuesday:

The Canadiens traded defenseman Jordan Harris and received a 2026 second-round pick to acquire Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets in August.

The team will open the 2024-25 season without Laine next Wednesday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Laine suffered the injury on Saturday during a preseason loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Canadiens winger left the contest after suffering a knee-on-knee collision with Cedric Pare early in the first period. He was seen wearing a knee brace and walking on crutches during practice on Monday.

The short end of the Canadiens' projected recovery timeline puts Laine on track to miss about 20 games and return at the beginning of December.

He last played a full season during his 2018-19 campaign with the Winnipeg Jets, and has not played more than 60 games in a season since his midseason trade from the Jets to the Blue Jackets in 2021.

Laine was limited to 18 appearances for the Blue Jackets last season prior to requesting a trade from his former team.

He last skated in regular-season NHL action on Dec. 14 before he was sidelined by a broken clavicle, then joined the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28. He subsequently underwent shoulder surgery this summer.

Laine was cleared to return from the player assistance program on July 26, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, and told reporters he had been cleared to skate as of August 19.

The rebuilding Canadiens were expecting to give Laine a shot on the second line alongside Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook in hopes that the Canadiens could build out their top six, while Laine would receive power-play opportunities and hopefully recover the sharpshooting abilities the former No. 2 pick demonstrated early in his Jets career.

Instead Laine will work on recovering, while the Canadiens will spend the remainder of the preseason experimenting with different line combinations.

Options for the right side of the second line could include dividing the top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, or moving fellow right-handed shooter Josh Anderson into the top six while using rookie Emil Heineman to fill in for him on a lower line.

The Canadiens will get their next chance to experiment with their lineups on Tuesday night during a home preseason contest against the Ottawa Senators.