Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Patrik Laine

Atlantic Notes: Ostapchuk, Zub, Laine, Slafkovský, Motte, Benson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Senators papered Zack Ostapchuk back up to the active roster today after sending him down to AHL Belleville yesterday, per a team announcement.

Ottawa has now recalled the young center on three separate occasions this season. After initially cutting him from their roster on the final day of training camp, he’s been recalled thrice in the past week to serve as an injury fill-in while David Perron and Shane Pinto are out of the lineup.

Ostapchuk has served as the Sens’ third-line center between Noah Gregor and Michael Amadio and will do so again against the Sabres tomorrow, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The 21-year-old went without a point in seven appearances last season but has managed to get on the scoresheet in 2024-25, recording his first career assist and a +1 rating while averaging 11:55 through three games.

While Ottawa will remain without Perron and Pinto for a while yet, they’re getting healthier on the back end. Defenseman Artem Zub will make his return from a concussion “sooner than later,” Garrioch said today. He’s been practicing with the team for the better part of the past week but will likely miss his ninth straight game Tuesday in Buffalo. He sustained the concussion in the Sens’ third game of the season against the Kings on a hit from L.A. winger Tanner Jeannot.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Canadiens winger Patrik Laine hasn’t yet debuted for the team after sustaining a knee injury in preseason, but his return timeline predicates he’ll hit the ice and return to regular-season action sometime next month. He’s still done enough throughout his career to put himself in consideration for a spot on Finland’s roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, general manager Jere Lehtinen told Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com. There’s a solid chance he won’t get to see game action before rosters for the tournament are due in early December, but leaving him off the roster would leave the already-underdog Finns without a dynamic offensive talent. Health has been a significant hurdle for Laine over the past few years, but his 0.91 points per game since the beginning of the 2021-22 season rank fourth among Finnish NHLers behind Mikko Rantanen, Aleksander Barkov and Sebastian Aho.
  • Still with the Habs, winger Juraj Slafkovský practiced today after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Penguins late after a high hit from Pittsburgh forward Noel Acciari, relays Patrick Friolet of RDS. Slafkovský confirmed to reporters that he didn’t suffer a concussion on the play and will remain in the lineup against the Flames tomorrow, albeit in a slightly reduced second-line role alongside Jake Evans and Alex Newhook, while Kirby Dach takes his spot on the top-line alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Slafkovský, 20, already missed three games earlier this season with a shoulder injury. When in the lineup, he has a goal and seven assists in nine appearances.
  • The Red Wings will have forward Tyler Motte available on Wednesday against the Blackhawks after he missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters today, including Ansar Khan of MLive.com. However, he may still be out of the lineup as a healthy scratch after Detroit escaped their division-rival Sabres with a 2-1 win over the weekend. Signed to a one-year, $800K deal on the second day of free agency, Motte did not have a point with a -2 rating in four appearances with Detroit before exiting the lineup.
  • The Sabres may activate winger Zach Benson from injured reserve before tomorrow’s contest against the Sens, head coach Lindy Ruff told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 19-year-old has sat out the last five games with a lower-body injury he sustained in their Global Series games against the Devils that never wholly resolved. It showed in his performance, as he was held off the scoresheet and logged a -4 rating in six appearances when in the lineup for Buffalo last month.

Atlantic Notes: Laine, Xhekaj, Struble, Guentzel, Nosek

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Montreal Canadiens have already been busy today with their long-term injured reserve, adding forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard earlier today. They have added another with PuckPedia reporting the team has added forward Patrik Laine to the LTIR opening up $8.7MM in cap space.

PuckPedia also confirmed that defensemen Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble’s reassignments to the AHL yesterday were merely a paper transaction with both being recalled to the opening night roster. These moves mean the Canadiens will open the season with $6.625MM in cap space and an LTIR pool of $9.717MM without putting goaltender Carey Price’s $10.5MM salary on LTIR.

Despite the callup, Struble will not be in the lineup for the Canadiens’ regular season opener tomorrow night. The organization announced he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Even when healthy Struble will have difficulty playing as consistently as last season with Montreal carrying Mike Matheson, Lane Hutson, and Xhekaj on the left side of their defense.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Some were speculating in Tampa Bay that new winger Jake Guentzel wouldn’t start the season on time after missing some of the team’s practice on Sunday and all of the team’s practice yesterday. Jon Cooper, head coach of the Lightning, downplayed that speculation earlier sharing that the team expects Guentzel back at practice on Thursday and there’s no doubt in his mind that he will be in their regular season opener on Friday. There are high expectations for Guentzel coming into this season after scoring 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games last year between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes while also signing a brand new seven-year, $63MM contract in Tampa.
  • The Florida Panthers will be without some forward depth at the bottom of their lineup for the next few weeks. Senior digital content manager for the Florida Panthers, Jameson Olive, reported forward Tomas Nosek is still out week-to-week with an upper-body injury and confirmed he would not return by next week. Nosek signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Panthers this offseason and is largely expected to be the 12th or 13th forward for the team in most games.

Atlantic Notes: McCabe, Senators, Laine

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

There may be one more contract to sign for the Toronto Maple Leafs before they take the ice for the regular season. Nick Kypreos, co-host of the show, Real Kyper and Bourne, promoted yesterday that Toronto and defenseman Jake McCabe may have an extension finalized by the end of the week.

The Sportsnet co-host said, “The one thing I did hear is potentially a Jake McCabe extension coming, maybe before the season starts. I heard talks were real good. Now, still maybe debatable on how much term and maybe that still might fluctuate the AAV. But I’m thinking right now that he’d have no problem right now next season making $30 million over six years“.

A contract of this magnitude would only mark a slight pay increase for McCabe who is entering the last year of a four-year, $16MM contract originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. The term may be the deciding factor as a six-year deal would take McCabe into his age-37 season which could prove too lengthy for the Maple Leafs. It’s tough to argue with the results as McCabe has fit like a glove in Toronto’s system since being acquired from the Blackhawks in 2022-23.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • The Ottawa Senators received good news on the injury front with Alex Adams of Sportsnet reporting that Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Thomas Chabot were all on the ice for practice this afternoon. All three players were seemingly injured in the team’s most recent preseason contest against the Montreal Canadiens but none of the ailments proved costly. The game between the Canadiens was one of the more chaotic preseason games in recent memory with a whopping 79 PIMs bestowed upon the clubs.
  • Montreal avoided a major blow to their forward core earlier this week with the announcement Patrik Laine would only be out two to three months with a knee sprain and would not require surgery which likely saved his season. Laine spoke briefly about his desire to forego surgery when he said, “It was one of those you could go either way. I don’t think there’s ever any guarantees whether you do surgery or not…they did a good job of explaining the whole process and reassuring the chances are very high, that made me feel better about it” (X Link).

Patrik Laine Out Two To Three Months With Knee Sprain

at CDT | by 6 Comments

In a somewhat positive development for Patrik Laine and the Montreal Canadiens, the organization announced he would be out for two to three months with a knee sprain and would not require surgery. There was some speculation that Laine may have had damage to his anterior cruciate ligament but it appears that he and the Canadiens have avoided the worst-case scenario.

Laine’s injury came during the team’s game on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs when he was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto depth forward Cédric Paré. He laid on the ice several minutes after the hit, could not skate under his power, and left the game on crutches.

It’s still an unfortunate turn of events for Laine who was looking to rebuild his career after an offseason trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The former second-overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft dealt with multiple injuries last year with the Blue Jackets limiting to only 18 games before finishing the season in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

He was expected to be a major fixture in the Canadiens’ top six this season but will now have to wait until at least December to make an impact. He’s only two years removed from scoring 48 goals and 108 points in 111 games in Columbus from 2021-2023. If he hypothetically returns to the ice at the soonest possible date on December 1st he will still be able to suit up in 59 games for Montreal if he stays healthy for the remainder of the year.

It marks the second major injury to the Canadiens organization in the last few hours with the team also announcing defensive prospect David Reinbacher would miss most of the 2024-25 season after knee surgery. Laine’s luck avoiding a similar injury needing surgery likely saved his first year in Montreal.

The team still has a sizeable hole to fill on the right side of the second line. Familiar faces such as Brendan Gallagher or Josh Anderson will most likely fill that role until Laine is ready to return. No matter who the Canadiens pick to fill the newfound void they will find difficulty in internally replacing Laine’s ability to put the puck in the net.

East Notes: Laine, Lindholm, Brink, Othmann

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Canadiens fans are still waiting with bated breath for news about top offseason acquisition Patrik Laine. The winger left last night’s preseason loss to the Maple Leafs in the first period after he was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto AHL depth piece Cédric Paré, preventing him from skating off under his own power (via The Athletic’s Arpon Basu).

It certainly didn’t look good for Laine, whose left knee bent awkwardly during the hit and laid on the ice for several minutes before being helped off. Paré, who inked his first NHL deal with the Maple Leafs in July, isn’t yet facing supplemental discipline. He also wasn’t penalized on the play.

Laine was visibly angry while heading back to the Montreal room, an understandable reaction for a player who desperately needed a healthy season. The 26-year-old was limited to 18 games with the Blue Jackets last season with a collarbone fracture and a lengthy stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, recording six goals and three assists for nine points with a -10 rating. Montreal acquired the 2016 second-overall pick from Columbus last month, sending depth defenseman Jordan Harris the other way.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Bruins center Elias Lindholm is back practicing in a non-contact jersey today, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports. He’s been day-to-day with an undisclosed injury since Tuesday and hasn’t played in any preseason action thus far. It’s a good sign the 29-year-old will be ready for opening night. He’s still on track to begin the season as Boston’s No. 1 center, anchoring a line between David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha. He inked a seven-year, $54.25MM deal with the Bruins this summer after posting 44 points in 75 games for the Flames and Canucks last season.
  • Bobby Brink is trending toward cracking the Flyers’ opening night roster for the second year in a row, writes The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. Brink, 23, was solid in a middle-six role last year, posting 11 goals and 23 points in 57 games. But he spent some time in the minors as well, and his path to ice time in Philly this year became a bit murkier after 2023 seventh overall pick Matvei Michkov came over from Russia and signed his entry-level contract. He’ll still need to “earn his ice time,” Kurz writes, but Brink has drawn praise from head coach John Tortorella with his strong camp performance and will challenge for a third-line role at right wing after signing a two-year, $3MM deal this summer.
  • Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann’s chances of cracking the roster appear slim after he skated with a group of players mostly ticketed for the AHL on Sunday, relays The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. Othmann, 21, went pointless in three NHL games last season – his first in the majors. The 2021 first-round pick was great in his first pro showing with AHL Hartford last season, though, posting 49 points in 67 games and earning a spot in the league’s All-Star Game. He’ll get a few more NHL looks in 2024-25 even if he’s not up with the Rangers to start.

Atlantic Notes: Lysell, Marchand, Laine

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Bruins opened rookie camp today without 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell. That’s by design, however, writes Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic. AHL Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel told Shinzawa that the organization wants Lysell “extremely ready” when veterans report to training camp next Wednesday, signaling Boston’s front office fully intends on Lysell pushing for a spot on the opening night roster.

“He knows how well he can play,” general manager Don Sweeney told Shinzawa. “He knows how much we were proud of the steps he had taken. He had a good camp last year. He’s just still got to continue to work on his complete game. One-on-one skills stuff and some of the stuff he can do to change a game are really good.”

Lysell, 21, is entering his third professional season but has yet to make his NHL debut. He’s been tearing up the farm under Mougenel in Providence, though. He finished fourth on the team in scoring last season with 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists) in 56 games.

The 21st overall pick three years ago remains a high-upside playmaking option for Boston at right-wing – a current position of weakness after Jake DeBrusk left for the Canucks in free agency. He’ll look to push players like Justin Brazeau, Trent Frederic, or Morgan Geekie down the depth chart to start the Bruins’ season opener in a second or third-line role.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Brad Marchand reaffirmed to reporters today that he expects to be ready for the Bruins’ season opener on Oct. 8 in Florida after undergoing a trio of offseason surgeries, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. The captain revealed his injuries to the media early last week, disclosing that he underwent elbow, abdominal, and groin procedures over the past few months.
  • Canadiens AHL head coach Pascal Vincent told “The Sick Podcast” with Tony Marinaro that fresh trade acquisition Patrik Laine, whom he oversaw with the Blue Jackets last season, is the “most talented player he’s ever coached” (X link). It’s undoubtedly a bold assessment to make after Laine played just 18 games last season, Vincent’s only campaign at the helm in Columbus, but it gives a bit of optimism that the Habs have the internal tools to help Laine rediscover his 30-to-45-goal potential after an incredibly trying 2023-24 season for the Finnish winger.

Snapshots: Laine, Lankinen, CBA Talks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While Patrik Laine was eventually traded to Montreal, it appears as if that wasn’t the originally planned destination for the winger.  La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported earlier this week that the Wild had been in discussions to acquire the 26-year-old with GM Bill Guerin acknowledging to him that he thought he had a chance to get Laine.  However, Guerin indicated that Laine didn’t want to go to Minnesota which implies that the Wild were one of the teams on his partial no-trade list.  Considering his $8.7MM cap hit and Minnesota’s particularly tight cap situation, it would have been interesting to see how Guerin was going to make it work in terms of fitting in Laine’s contract on their books.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While the Canucks have been linked to veteran goaltender Kevin Lankinen on the tryout front as they look to get some insurance for training camp, Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston relays that the veteran’s intention is to secure a full contract offer and not go the PTO route. The 29-year-old has been a backup for the last four seasons, posting a respectable 3.05 GAA with a .905 SV% over stints with Chicago and Nashville but with so few teams needing goalie depth at the moment, a guaranteed deal at this point will be hard to come by for Lankinen.
  • Marty Walsh, executive director of the NHLPA, told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that there have not yet been any major discussions pertaining to the next CBA, noting it’s still a bit early to get into those talks. The current agreement is set to expire following the 2025-26 season.  This will be Walsh’s first CBA that he works on after taking over for Don Fehr back in 2023.  While it was recently noted that there is an uptick in signing bonus money for 2026-27 as insurance against a possible work stoppage, Walsh indicated that it shouldn’t be construed as a sign of possible concern.

Canadiens Notes: Caufield, Hutson, Laine

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Cole Caufield played with Johnny Gaudreau for the USA at this year’s World Championship. That’s just part of the reason that the star Canadiens winger is changing his jersey from No. 22 to No. 13 to honor him following his death last week, he said in a touching message on his personal Instagram account Tuesday night.

“Getting to play with your hero is something that most people only dream of,” Caufield said. “I was lucky enough to be Johnny’s teammate this past summer and it didn’t take long to realize how great of a person he was. He was the most welcoming, genuine, and funniest guy I have ever met. He was someone everyone gravitated towards and I took every chance I could to be around him. Not only was he an amazing hockey player and teammate, but he was down to earth and truly cared about every person he encountered.”

“I wore #13 at a point in my career because of Johnny and now I will be wearing it again to honor him,” he continued. “He paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level. I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.” Caufield wore No. 13 while in the U.S. National Development Team Program from 2017 to 2019.

Here’s more on the Canadiens:

  • Watch for Lane Hutson to break through the Canadiens’ logjam of young defensemen during training camp, opines NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. The diminutive 20-year-old is a dark horse to make the opening night roster if he can “prove his size won’t be a detriment” when given a long look with the team’s veterans later this month, Rosen writes. Hutson turned pro at the tail end of last season after playing a starring role on Boston University’s blue line for two years, recording two assists in his first two NHL games – both against the Red Wings in April – while averaging nearly 23 minutes per night.
  • New Canadiens winger Patrik Laine is also among Rosen’s top candidates for a rebound campaign this year after being significantly affected by injuries in 2023-24, he wrote in the same mailbag. He shares the opinion many others, including Montreal’s front office, has – that the 2016 second-overall pick can return to being a 40-goal threat if given the runway and health. The latter has seemingly been a bit of a curse for the Habs over the past few years, though. They lost nearly 400 man games to injury last season and lost a league-leading 600 in 2022-23, per NHL Injury Viz.

Poll: Which Trade Was The Most Impactful Since The Start Of Free Agency?

at CDT | by 27 Comments

Heading into the offseason, the NHL trade market was expected to be full of activity. However, as things played out, the trade market took much longer to develop than anticipated, with many of the major trades taking place within the last few weeks. With most of the notable players on the trade market now having changed hands shortly before the start of the 2024-25 NHL season, we’ll look back at some of the bigger trades since the start of free agency.

The biggest trade from the start of free agency happened in the middle of the frenzy, with the Washington Capitals acquiring defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Nick Jensen and a third-round pick in 2026. Chychrun is coming off of one of the better statistical performances throughout his career on a middling Senators’ defense, with 13 goals and 41 points in 82 games. He finished the year with a -30 rating, but that had largely to do with his deployment with Ottawa, as Hockey Reference pegged his expected rating at +0.4 over the year. He will no longer be responsible for leading a defensive core with John Carlson holding that crown, but he should still receive big minutes in Washington.

Fast forward to mid-August, when the Montreal Canadiens acquired one of the better forwards available on the trade market. The Canadiens acquired Patrik Laine and a second-round pick in 2026 from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jordan Harris. Laine carries a bloated salary of $8.7MM for the next two years and is coming off a disappointing due to injuries and a stint with the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, limiting him to only 18 games with Columbus. However, he is only two years removed from being a point-per-game player with the Blue Jackets, as he scored 48 goals and 108 points in 111 games. Montreal recently finished 26th in the league in goals per game, as they arguably only had one line for opposing defenses to worry about. With Laine now in the fold, if he can rebound with his new team, the Canadiens will be able to spread the wealth and give more for opponents to worry about.

The last two sizeable trades from the offseason are centered around prospects, with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets getting together on a swap of prospects Rutger McGroarty and Brayden Yager, and the San Jose Sharks acquired their goalie of the future in Yaroslav Askarov from the Nashville Predators.

McGroarty gives the Penguins a young, cost-effective, and hard-nosed NHL-caliber winger to place next to Sidney Crosby for the foreseeable future while the Jets acquired a right-handed centerman further down the road that should challenge for the second-line role longer-term. Similarly, Askarov represents one of the brighter goalie prospects in recent years after dominating the American Hockey League over the last two years. The Sharks rounded out an already solid prospect pool with Askarov and did not need to part with any of their top prospects in return.

There were several smaller trades throughout the summer that could be more impactful than the above-mentioned group. Now that the offseason is only a few weeks away from officially being in the rearview mirror — which trade from the summer do you think will be the most impactful moving forward?

Which Trade Was The Most Impactful Since The Start Of Free Agency?
Patrik Laine To Montreal 36.71% (696 votes)
Yaroslav Askarov To San Jose 26.90% (510 votes)
Jakob Chychrun To Washington 16.46% (312 votes)
Rutger McGroarty To Pittsburgh 13.50% (256 votes)
Other (comment below) 6.43% (122 votes)
Total Votes: 1,896

For mobile users, click here to vote.

East Notes: Laine, Makiniemi, Sutter

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Patrik Laine has no reservations about his ability to return to being an impact player following yesterday’s trade to the Canadiens. “I don’t want to come back as a 30-goal-scorer. I want to come back as a 40, 50- (goal-scorer). I’ve done that previously and it’s not by accident,” he told reporters (including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers).

“But it’s not just all about that,” Laine continued. “I want to come in and do whatever it takes to contribute to the team and help the team win, whether it’s me scoring 50 or scoring 20, as long as the team wins. I’m getting to that age, I’m not 19 years old anymore. I just want to win.”

Regardless of what exact number he produces, Laine’s career-average 14.7% shooting rate should be a boon to a Montreal offense that’s finished in the league’s basement the last few years. He’s only hit the 40-goal plateau once in his sophomore season with Winnipeg in 2017-18, but he’s hit or been on pace for 30 goals five other times, often limited by injuries.

Elsewhere from the Eastern Conference:

  • Team official site contributor Bill Meltzer relays that the Flyers are interested in bringing in free-agent netminder Eetu Mäkiniemi for a professional tryout. Philadelphia already has a pair of netminders under contract slated for minor-league action this season in Alexei Kolosov and buried veteran Calvin Petersen. However, the former’s availability is uncertain amid his reported preference to return to Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk on loan. Mäkiniemi, 25, became a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer after spending the last two seasons in the Sharks organization. He split last year between the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder, posting a .900 SV% in 18 AHL contests and a .907 SV% in three ECHL games. The Finn was a fourth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2017 and found his way to San Jose in the 2022 Brent Burns trade.
  • The Rangers have hired Shaun Sutter as an amateur scout, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports. His familiar last name isn’t a coincidence – he’s the son of former Blues captain Brian Sutter and the nephew of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Darryl Sutter. The 44-year-old has spent the last 13 years with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, including the last 10 as an assistant/associate general manager. He’ll presumably stick to scouting the region he’s developed an innate familiarity with over the past decade-plus.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top