Canadiens Tried to Move Patrik Laine at Deadline to Maple Leafs & One Other Team

The Montreal Canadiens were trying to do something significant at the trade deadline. GM Kent Hughes told us he went right down to the wire on a blockbuster. But they needed to divest themselves of some money first to make it happen. Specifically, Patrik Laine's $8.7 million cap hit.

Insider Elliotte Friedman tells us that the Habs tried to peddle the veteran forward to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers.

They definitely explored moving money. There were discussions about Patrik Laine ending up either in Philadelphia or Toronto, but it obviously didn’t work out.

It's less likely that either of those teams were truly interested in Laine as a piece for a playoff run or for the future (i.e. having him in-house to work out an extension), as it is that they were acting as a salary dump destination, in return for draft capital.

Neither team is/was close enough to the playoffs (in a serious way) to really believe that Laine, who hasn't played an NHL game in five months, could be a missing piece for them to get into the postseason dance. In the Leafs case, it's now pretty clear that they are into a rebuild/retool phase, and Laine would have been of no use to them, except as a means of nabbing a draft asset.

Laine underwent surgery for a severe core muscle injury in October. He last played a game on October 16. In his five games total before going down this season, he had one assist for the Canadiens with a plus/minus rating of -3. He was averaging a career-low 12:36 of ice time.

With the influx of competition into the top-nine for Montreal this season, and with Laine being on an expiring contract, his days with the team were numbered. Even when/if he's ready to return, which is expected any time, there might not be a spot for him in the lineup. Kirby Dach's injury this week, which will keep him out for two to four weeks, could potentially open up an opportunity for Laine to play, but as of yet, there's been no indication of that.

Head coach Martin St. Louis has already said that Laine is ruled out for their Thursday night game against the Detroit Red Wings.

The 27-year-old Finnish forward has seven 20-goal seasons in the NHL in his 10-year career, including 20 in his first campaign with the Habs last season, but he'll have to find a new home for the 2026-27 season.