The Montreal Canadiens got some crushing news regarding Patrik Laine and his injury situation. The news of his surgery and estimated timeline for return have made the rounds by now.
But as the dust begins to settle on the tough news, a huge question remains: What do the Montreal Canadiens do now?
The best thing the Canadiens can do at this point is avoid making rash decisions. Such decisions may involve making a panic move/trade to address the situation. But let’s be honest for a second, here. Laine, unfortunately, wasn’t playing a meaningful role for Montreal this season. He had just one assist in five games and was playing largely fourth-line minutes.
That statement doesn’t intend to demean Laine’s contributions. It’s just a reality that Montreal did not sustain a major loss like, say, Cole Caufield or Nick Suzuki going down for four months.
So, replacing Laine won’t really be the issue. The issue lies with Laine’s cap hit. The Finnish star is in the final year of his current deal, carrying an $8.7 million cap hit. Now, the knee-jerk reaction would be to move that cap hit to LTIR and utilize it to make more moves.
Roughly $9 million in cap space can buy a lot of depth. The Canadiens could split that money among two or three depth forwards, a couple of forwards, and another defenseman. Or, the Habs could go off the deep end and bring in a big-ticket contract to boost the lineup.
While there are so many ways the Canadiens could slice that pie, the reality is that the team can’t really spend the money. Allow me to explain why.
Canadiens cannot touch Laine’s cap hit, at least not yet
Laine’s cap hit allows the Habs to bring up players from Laval as needed. The cap flexibility allows the club to bring up multiple players to serve in depth roles. Once Laine returns, such players could be sent back down to accommodate for cap compliance.
That’s where the issue lies: The Canadiens can’t spend Laine’s cap hit because there’s a chance he returns this season. It won’t be until the Habs are certain that Laine won’t be back this season that they can confidently spend the cash.
Suppose the Canadiens move Laine’s cap hit to LTIR. They make a big splash, and then Laine returns. How do the Habs become cap-compliant at that point?
That situation might put the Canadiens in a pickle, forcing them to move someone they may not want to.
But there is an interesting point to consider. The ETA on Laine’s return is set for somewhere between early and late February. If the Habs see that Laine won’t be coming back until later, or even for the entire season, that move would coincide with the trade deadline.
Knowing that Laine would not return at that point would give the Habs enough flexibility to pursue a major trade. So, Canadiens’ fans should not expect any major moves at this point. If anything, the Canadiens could make other moves, but within the reasonable measure of the team’s current cap situation.