Elliotte Friedman confirms bad news for the Montreal Canadiens with Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher

The Montreal Canadiens have been left in a precarious situation while awaiting a prognosis for Patrik Laine after his knee injury. He was injured during his preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when he came into contact, knee-on-knee, with Cédric Paré. The impact made Laine need assistance off the ice, a pretty good indication that he might not be available anytime soon.

This injury comes at a time when Laine was hungry to prove himself once again after a somewhat underwhelming season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Last year, he was able to play in only 18 games due to a combination of injuries and time using the NHL's player assistance program. In his eyes, the 2024-25 season was supposed to be about re-establishing himself as one of the league's top talents.

The player who made the hit is 25-year-old forward Cedric Pare, a player who has never played in the NHL but has played pro hockey in both the AHL and ECHL. Pare will more than likely never have a full-time NHL job, but like so many fringe players, he's fighting for his chance to make an impression. Unfortunately, his careless play took not only Laine's season but also broke one of the unwritten rules of the NHL, according to analyst Elliotte Friedman.

On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman mentioned that Pare's hit was in violation of one of the NHL "codes," that is, one of those many unwritten sets of rules players largely honor to avoid dangerous situations. In that scenario, Pare wasn't called for a penalty on the play for the knee-on-knee hit, so Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj decided to take matters into his own hands and went after Pare with a few retaliatory punches. Although Xhekaj received a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct, he did not face suspension, arguably in part because it is well understood that Pare stepped over the line in his check.

Elliotte Friedman also confirmed the worst when it came time to providing an update on the injury of both players. He said that while the team cannot provide an update on what exactly each player is suffering from, they are preparing for the worst, which will not sit well with Habs fans.

In the end, the injury to Patrik Laine puts a damper on what was supposed to be a comeback season for him with the Canadiens. Cedric Pare, a player with little NHL experience, may have caused significant disruption to one of the league's brightest talents. It's a delicate balance, as the incident showcases, between giving fringe players an opportunity to prove themselves and not putting stars of the league in spots where they may get unduly hurt when games don't count in the standings. About all a team like the Canadiens can hope for is that Laine has a quick recovery and incidents like these remain few and far between.