Patrik Laine’s future with the Canadiens in doubt as analyst believes he’s played his la
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Patrik Laine has been practicing regularly with the Canadiens for the past few days, but the forward has still not been cleared by doctors.
Even though Laine has been ramping things up in recent days, he is still not ready to return to play.
It’s clear that the lineup looks fairly complete, as Joe Veleno and Samuel Blais have been scratched for the past few games.
That said, host Tony Marinaro shared his opinion on Patrik Laine’s potential return.
Tony Marinaro believes that Patrik Laine will not return with the Canadiens
The host firmly believes that the winger’s Montreal chapter is already over.
“I think Patrik Laine has played his last game with the Canadiens.
Unless the only game where I think something could happen would be the game in Winnipeg, where he started his career.”
– Tony Marinaro
Marinaro mentions that Laine might only play one symbolic game in Winnipeg to close the loop.
Pierre McGuire also suggests he could ask his agent for a trade, given the lack of fit in the lineup right now.
“He may have to ask his agent to go and ask for a trade. I don’t know where he fits on this lineup right now. Who’s he better than in the top 6?”
– Pierre McGuire
The rest of the season appears compromised by that lingering upper-body injury that has not healed.
Even though he helped the Canadiens last season by scoring 20 goals, the forward has recorded just one point this season in five games.
The challenge for Martin St-Louis is that he would have to remove a player to insert Laine into the lineup, and with two straight wins against NHL powerhouses, it would be surprising to see Laine rejoin the lineup.
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Patrik Laine’s future with the Canadiens in doubt as analyst believes he’s played his last game
Do you think Patrik Laine will play another game in Montreal?