Patrik Laine leaves game vs. Toronto Maple Leafs due to serious knee injury

The Montreal Canadiens prized forward had to leave the preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs due to a knee injury after colliding with the Maple Leafs' Cedric Pare.

Darren Dreger confirmed the report that Laine's injury is clearly worse for wear and not just a little stinger, which is terrible news for Canadiens fans.

This goes alongside David Reinbacher, who also limped off and needed help getting to the Montreal locker room earlier. It's not a good start for the Montreal Canadiens as they are already bitten by the injury bug, something that really affected them last season as they ended up losing over 700 games due to various injuries throughout the 2023-2024 season.

Laine, who was acquired by Montreal acquired by Montreal this summer for defenseman Jordan Harris was looking to bounce back after a stint with the NHLPA Player Assistance program. The former 2nd overall pick in 2016 (the same year Toronto drafted Auston Matthews) had a fantastic start to his career with the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 138 goals in his first four seasons with the club. He struggled a bit towards the latter portion of his time in Winnipeg, before being traded with Jack Roslovic to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a draft pick; he struggled a little bit in his time with the Blue Jackets but managed 64 goals for the squad before dealing with numerous injuries and the aforementioned Player Assistance stint.

We will update you with more information as this story develops.