Patrik Laine may not be on the ice for the home opener, but Montreal Canadiens fans still showed him some love.
Standing amongst the Canadiens team members not dressed for Wednesday’s season opener, Laine was greeted with a long and loud standing ovation from the Habs faithful at Bell Centre.
Laine’s debut with the Canadiens was cut short when he suffered a knee sprain following a collision during his second pre-season game. Though the 26-year-old avoided the worst-case scenario, he’s still expected to miss approximately three months.
No matter to the fans, though, who don’t seem to have lost the excitement at having the 2016 second-overall pick within their organization.
After a lacklustre four years with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Laine was set to make a fresh start in Montreal when he was traded to the Canadiens, along with a 2026 second-round pick, for Jordan Harris in August. The Tampere, Finland native is on the third year of a four-year, $34.8 million contract he signed while with the Blue Jackets.
The Canadiens hope that when Laine returns, he’ll be able to replicate the goal-scoring magic he demonstrated during his first four years in the league with the Winnipeg Jets, when he tallied 138 goals in 305 games.