Canadiens’ Patrik Laine says he could have played back in January

The Montreal Canadiens are just the latest team to see their 2025-26 season come to an end, after losing the Eastern Conference Final to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

On Monday, the Canadiens had their end-of-season media availability, and one player of interest that spoke is winger Patrik Laine, who only played the first five games of the season before a core muscle injury and subsequent surgery kept forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.

According to Laine, however, he could have come back to play just after the calendar flipped to 2026.

“I think I could have come back pretty early,” Laine said. “But it’s just one of those things when you have surgeries and stuff, you don’t always feel 100%. I’ve been unfortunate that I’ve had plenty of those, so I kind of have experience with that. But I probably could have played pretty soon after New Year’s, but also you don’t want to rush anything and go to play too early and then you’ll take a step back and then it takes longer. So kind of wanted to be more and more cautious with that.”

As he noted, Laine has had more than his fair share of injury trouble in his career, so the decision to sit out rather than come back in the New Year was made out of caution.

Laine, 28, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and likely doesn’t fit into Montreal’s plans given the number of young stars they’ll have to pay in the coming years. The Finnish national spoke about what the future may hold for him.

“I’m just excited where the wind takes me next year,” Laine said. “But I’m excited to see new opportunities and see where it goes. I’m not too worried about it right now. Just right now, take a little breather and relax, and then get back at it.”