The Montreal Canadiens are one of the NHL’s better teams this season, in no small part because of the gambles GM Kent Hughes took that have largely paid off.

The trade for defenseman Noah Dobson has been great for the Habs. So has the acquisition of left winger Zach Bolduc. The Canadiens’ draft and development department has also delivered many gems and foundational pieces of the puzzle. There is plenty to like in Montreal, as the Habs are only scratching the surface of their potential.

However, one gamble that hasn’t gone as hoped is the trade that brought winger Patrik Laine to the Canadiens. That’s because Laine has once again shown he can’t stay healthy.

The Habs announced Saturday that Laine will miss the next three to four months after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury.

The news of Laine’s unfortunate injury puts a crimp in Montreal’s offensive capability, but not so much that it will derail the seventh-best offense in the league (at an average of 3.6 goals-for per game).

Here's why: In five games this season, Laine has just a single assist to show for it. Given that Laine is earning $8.7 million this season, that just isn’t going to cut it. 

You can try to chalk up Laine’s struggles to his muscle injury, and that may be true. However, the bottom line is that Laine’s offensive production has been in decline for years now. He scored 20 goals last season, which is down from his 22-goal total in 2023-24 and his 26-goal total in 2021-22. There’s a one-way trend here, and it isn’t good.

But here’s the bigger issue that will likely mean the end of the road for Laine in Montreal: his inability to stay healthy. Since the 2020-21 campaign, Laine hasn't played more than 56 games in a single season. Regardless of whether that’s a product of bad luck or a bigger problem concerning his body’s ability to withstand the physical rigors of the NHL game, the bottom line is that Laine can’t be counted on to be in the lineup 82 games a year. That’s going to significantly drive down his asking price next summer when he becomes a UFA.

We’re not here to tell you every team is going to pass on Laine as a free agent. He’s still only 27 years old, and who knows, perhaps there’s a road ahead in which, on a different team, he stays healthy and once again challenges for the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy as the league’s best goal-scorer. But it’s understandable why the Canadiens might wish Laine well at the end of this year and move in another direction. Laine’s cap hit could be much better spent on a player Montreal management can count on, because right now, they can’t count on Laine.

When he was drafted second overall in 2016, Laine looked like a can’t-miss prospect, and for the first four years of his NHL career, he fit the part, scoring at least 30 goals in his first three seasons. But since 2020, Laine has been a depreciating asset, and this latest health setback could spell the end of the line for him in Montreal at the end of this year. 

Until he proves otherwise, Laine will be regarded as a risky gamble, and it’s highly unlikely the Canadiens will make that same gamble again. He may have the passion to bounce back at the NHL level, but his body is signalling otherwise, and that means the Canadiens are almost assuredly going to cut the cord on him.

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