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'I don’t think Patrik Laine wants to leave Montreal.'

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Feb 27, 2026 11:36 AM ET

The Patrik Laine situation is a hot potato for the Canadiens. Everyone knows it.

The player himself will not be playing before the trade deadline, and the Canadiens are doing everything they can to send him elsewhere for the rest of the 2025-2026 season.

Will it work? Who knows?

From what we learned yesterday, Laine’s agentLaine’s agent got the OK from the Canadiens to talk to other NHL teams to find common ground to facilitate a trade.

It’s the right thing to do, under the circumstances.

But the fact remains that Laine himself is not exactly thrilled about the whole situation. Elliotte Friedman, who reports in his 32 Thoughts that Laine has asked to leave a city in the past, believes that this is not the case in Montreal.
The informant believes that the Finn does not want to leave Montreal. He thinks that the player really likes the city… but, obviously, that the fit is not there.

Friday morning 32 Thoughts news, information & analysis podcast.

Links to your preferred platform, here: https://t.co/io7Mr1QEpm Enjoy!

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 27, 2026

He and his wife have never hidden the fact that they love the city. And recently, his wife spoke publicly about how the trade deadline brings its share of stress.

But right now, a departure seems inevitable. Two healthy forwards (Zachary Bolduc and Joe Veleno) are ahead of Laine in the pecking order… and in the event of an injury, I’d rather see a guy like Samuel Blais called up as backup.

Kent Hughes knows that Laine no longer has a place in the city, and it’s clear that the Canadiens want to make room. It remains to be seen which team will take the bait.
The trade deadline is exactly one week from today.

In a nutshell

– Yeah.

Worst save % – #Canadiens goalie’s first 14 home GP of a season:
.827- Doug Soetaert (1984-85)
.837- Richard Sevigny (1983-84)
.849- Sam Montembeault (2025-26 via his 22/26 in tonight’s OTL vs NYI)
.856- Sevigny (1982-83)
.861- Rick Wamsley (1982-83)
.868- Brian Hayward (1987-88)

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) February 27, 2026

– Incredible.

Tampa Bay is 20-1-1 in their last 22 games. They’ve outscored teams 92-51.

Kucherov has 17-35-52 in those 22 games (2.36 pts/G). Only 42 other players have 52+ points all season.

Tampa is the best team in the NHL right now and they just got Brayden Point back. #NHL

— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) February 26, 2026

— Must read.

The Canadiens played their 20th overtime game. I looked at each one. Half the time, the Canadiens held a third period lead, and five of those 10 blown leads have come in their last 17 games.
As playoffs approach, this continues to be a problem: https://t.co/0FMJ5aBh3L

— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 27, 2026

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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