Patrik Laine is still in search of a new home ahead of the 2026-27 regular season.
He played in just 5 games last year after suffering a core muscle injury against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 16, 2025. Laine played 12:10 against Nashville and was not seen again for the rest of the campaign.
Surgery was required to repair Laine’s injury, and his timeline to return was initially expected to be 3-4 months. He was eventually held out of Montreal’s postseason run as well.
Whenever he signs a new contract, it will be the fourth different NHL team he will have played for. Following his shortened 25-26 season, he was unsure of what was next for him in a conversation with reporters in Montreal on locker clean-out day.
“Excited to see where the wind takes me,” Laine said. “Excited to see new opportunities and see where it goes. I’m not too worried about it right now. We’ll see where the wind takes me.”
Laine has been tied to a few other teams, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, and now one other organization looking to bounce back this coming season.
The Florida Panthers are another team right now that could use him right now after one of its top-six skaters said he needed surgery late this offseason.
Brad Marchand is the player who may be out for the Panthers as the 2026-27 season gets started. He was in line to play former teammate Zdeno Chara’s ‘Last Shift’ charity game sometime next week in Slovakia and had to bow out.
“Unfortunately, I had to have surgery,” Marchand said on Instagram. “I was trying to fix it without surgery, but unfortunately that wasn’t able to happen and had to kind of do it last minute. With the time and the recovery I’m going to need, I won’t be able to make it and play in the game.”
“I need to do the rehab and take care of that so I can get back on the ice soon,” Marchand added at the end of his post.
Coincidentally, Laine was seen skating in Florida this week, where he’s training in preparation for his 11th NHL season. He’s yet to sign a new deal, with NHL training camps set to open roughly one month from now.
Florida Hockey Now reporter George Richards wrote this week that Marchand is believed to be dealing with a hip and sports hernia injury and could be out two months or more after having the surgery.
It was known last season that Marchand had reaggravated an old injury during his time with the Boston Bruins.
Panthers GM Bill Zito told reporters on July 1 that Marchand’s rehab process was on track with what was expected. Now, a surgery this late in the summer opens a roster spot otherwise already thought to be filled.
Laine could come to the Panthers on a prove-it deal after having an underwhelming last few years. He’s not eclipsed 50 points since the 22-23 season when he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
There have been seven seasons throughout Laine’s career where he has scored at least 20 or more goals. Should the Panthers want to roll the dice on him, and if it’s worth it, they could.
According to Puck Pedia, the Panthers have $34,286 in cap space, but if Marchand was put on the long-term injured reserve list, then Laine would be able to sign. However, then Zito would need to perform surgery on his roster that he didn’t already need to.
Laine carried an average annual salary of $8.7 million over four years on his last deal with the Blue Jackets. That would not be a realistic expectation for the Panthers to get close to, should they want the Finnish forward.
In the grand scheme of it all, a 38-year-old Marchand would get all of the time he needs to recover, and Laine would be able to help the Panthers get back to the postseason with the hope of getting his career back on a positive trajectory.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
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