Laine leaves Canadiens preseason game due to injury

Patrik Laine left the Montreal Canadiens’ preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday with an apparent leg injury. The Canadiens announced he would not return.

The forward was injured in a knee-to-knee collision with Toronto forward Cedric Paré at 3:49 of the first period at the Bell Center in Montreal.

Laine was the key offseason addition for the Canadiens, who finished last in the Atlantic Division in each of the last three seasons, going 30-36-16 last season. The 26-year-old forward was acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on August 19.

Laine suffered a broken collarbone last season and played in only 18 games, the last coming on December 14. He added nine points (six goals, three assists). Laine began receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on January 28 and was released from the program on July 26.

Montreal coach Martin St. Louis had no update on Laine’s status after the game.

“If you know you can bring him back to his own standards, it’s very exciting,” St. Louis said. “And I feel like we’ve done a good job of bringing him in and he’s started to feel more comfortable, so it’s tough.” see him fall like this today. And I hope it’s not too serious.”

Selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the second pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Laine has 388 points (204 goals, 184 assists) in 480 NHL games with the Jets and Blue Jackets, and 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He scored a career-high 44 goals in the NHL with the Jets in 2017-18 after scoring 36 as a rookie in 2016-17. Laine has scored 20 goals six times, most recently with 22 goals in 2022-23, but due to injuries and other problems he has played in 129 of 246 games over the last three seasons (52.4 percent).

Canadiens defense prospect David Reinbacher also left Saturday’s game shortly after the opening faceoff following a hit on the boards by Toronto’s Marshall Rifai. He had to be helped to the locker room after passing through the bench. Montreal selected the 19-year-old with the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

NHL.com freelance correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report.