{"id":416921,"date":"2026-01-20T00:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/416921\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T00:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:54:16","slug":"is-patrik-laine-done-in-montreal-the-truth-behind-his-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/416921\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Patrik Laine Done in Montreal? The Truth Behind His Return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montreal<\/a>A bittersweet moment during warmups: Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine salutes the crowd as a fan behind the glass holds up a sign reading “We will miss you Patrik!”, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding his future with the club ahead of the NHL trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Patrik Laine<\/a> is finally back on the ice, but let\u2019s be honest\u2014this doesn\u2019t feel like a reinforcement arriving to save the season; it feels like the beginning of an exit interview. The 27-year-old winger has been sidelined since mid-October following core muscle surgery, and while seeing him skate is good news for his health, it creates a massive logistical headache for the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is the uncomfortable truth: the Habs\u2019 top-nine has gelled without him. The chemistry is set. Injecting a player who needs high-volume minutes to be effective into a lineup that has moved on is risky. Yet, leaving an $8.7 million asset in the press box is impossible.<\/p>\n

The \u201cShowcase\u201d Strategy <\/p>\n

According to recent reports, including insights from Habs insider Stu Cowan, the plan isn\u2019t to bury Laine in the bottom six. You can\u2019t showcase a Ferrari in a school zone. The Canadiens are likely to force-feed Laine top-line minutes and power-play time immediately. This isn\u2019t about winning games in February; it\u2019s about convincing the other 31 GMs that Laine can still snipe before the March 6 NHL trade deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Harsh Reality of Laine\u2019s Trade Value<\/p>\n

If the showcase works, don\u2019t expect a king\u2019s ransom. I\u2019ve crunched the numbers on the current trade market, and the valuation is sobering for Habs fans expecting a first-round pick.<\/p>\n

The biggest hurdle isn\u2019t the injury; it\u2019s the cap hit. Most playoff contenders are dollar-in, dollar-out right now.<\/p>\n

The 25% Retention Scenario
If Montreal is only willing to retain 25% of his salary, bringing his cap hit down to roughly $6.525 million for the acquiring team, the return plummets. At that price tag, teams view him as a distressed asset rather than a savior.<\/p>\n

Likely Return: A 4th or 5th Round Draft Pick.<\/p>\n

Why? A $6.5M hit is what you pay for an elite, healthy rental. Paying that for a guy coming off core muscle surgery is a gamble most GMs won\u2019t take without a discount.<\/p>\n

The Path to a Better Pick
To get a 2nd Round Pick or a legitimate prospect, the Canadiens will have to eat 50% of the salary (dropping the hit to $4.35M) or involve a third-party broker to get the hit down to $2.1M. That is the only world where Laine fetches a premium return.<\/p>\n

Latest Montreal Canadiens News & Game Day Info<\/p>\n

For the latest updates on the trade deadline and line combinations, keep it locked here. Do you think you know more than the experts? Prove it by joining our Fantasy Hockey Pool for cash prizes<\/a> directly on our website. And if you\u2019re looking for how to watch the Habs game on TV today<\/a>, check our daily schedule.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to add nhltraderumor.com<\/a> to your bookmarks so you never miss a beat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bittersweet moment during warmups: Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine salutes the crowd as a fan behind the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[23651,5,640],"class_list":{"0":"post-416921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-habs-trade-rumors","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-patrik-laine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115924701943399933","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}