"I put myself in that situation": Patrik Laine shoulders blame for injury in 'unfortunate' collision with Cedric Pare

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Oct 03, 2024 18:49 GMT

Patrik Laine is expected to miss the first two or three months of the season after suffering a knee injury. He collided with Cedric Pare during a preseason game which forced his knee backward. It may be easy to blame the player who collided with him but Laine is not taking that route.

"I don't think anybody's trying to hurt anybody," Laine said via Sportsnet on Thursday. "Hockey's a fast game, and I kind of put myself in that situation a little bit trying to make a stop. It's just an unfortunate collision, and he texted me afterwards, which I give him respect for that."

Laine has officially been diagnosed with a left knee sprain. Injuries like this can tear something (either the ACL or MCL) in the knee and cost players a full season. Fortunately for Laine, he is expected to return in a maximum of three months.

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Canadiens star addresses loss of Patrik Laine

The Montreal Canadiens could have a difficult time adjusting to the loss of Patrik Laine. The star player is one of the most impactful on the roster and his 2-3 month absence will be felt.

Patrik Laine will miss up to three months (Imagn)

His recovery time could have been a lot longer as defenseman David Savard said via NHL.com:

“We thought it was going to be maybe longer than that, looking at the video and stuff," Savard said. "We weren’t sure if it was going to be good news, but it’s definitely better than a lot of us expected."

Savard is hopeful that Laine will return after just two months and added that he and his teammates will be there for him as he recovers.

"And we’ll try to support him in that and make sure he’s feeling part of the team. You know, I think that’s the biggest thing when you come to a new team, especially if you’re not around the guys all the time, so we’ll try the best we can to make sure that he feels at home here in Montreal.”

This is Laine's first year with the Canadiens after he was traded in August. He spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets.