The Montreal Canadiens chose not to bring Patrik Laine back for another season.
Apparently the rest of the NHL is currently making the same call.
The 2026-27 NHL season is nearly a month underway, and Laine remains a free agent. Given how promising he was earlier in his career, it’s definitely a surprise.
It also has created all kinds of speculation, both about whether something is wrong with Laine but also about what he might do if he continues to linger without an NHL contract.
On Wednesday, at least one aspect of that was cleared up a bit by an insider.
Patrik Laine Future Plans
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, seemingly unprompted, shared a short report on X on Wednesday about Laine.
Kaplan wrote:
“As Patrik Laine remains unsigned, I’m told he has zero intention of signing in Europe. The longer this goes on, the more he says he’s motivated to prove people wrong.”
It does make sense that a player who believes he’s still in or near his prime wouldn’t want to depart for Europe. He may never come back if he does that.
And the motivation to prove people wrong makes sense, too. That’s a classic athlete motivator.
The tricky part is getting the chance to do it. Laine still doesn’t have a contract. The longer this goes, the odder it gets, but it also gets harder and harder to see who would go for him.
Laine’s best chance is likely an injury bug that forces a forward need for a team that Laine could conceptually fill. But being a free agent without a team to play for also makes it tougher to stay in game shape. It’s just not an ideal spot for Laine, but at least for now, he’s not going away easily.
Patrik Laine Career
The former No. 2 overall pick Laine is still just 28 years old. He won’t turn 29 until April.
He has played 537 career NHL games and scored 224 goals with 197 assists (421 points).
Laine played 52 games in 2024-25 and had 33 points for Montreal — 20 goals and 13 assists.
He has also played for the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Laine played just five games in 2025-26 for the Habs, his final year under an expensive contract before hitting the free agent market this summer.
He was hurt at one point, although it wasn’t clear if he was still hurt at the end of the year when he wasn’t playing or not.
All that’s clear at this point is that a new team hasn’t given Laine a shot yet. Will he get one eventually? He apparently is still hoping so, but it’s been an odd waiting game up until now that puts doubt into his future.
Canadiens’ Free Agent Patrik Laine Future Plans Revealed