“92 will be back”: Patrik Laine thanks fans for their support

It was hard to watch Patrik Laine leave the Habs warm-up game in pain on Saturday night. We feared the worst for a player who arrived in town with great fanfare this summer, and above all, who really looked like he wanted to enjoy a fresh start in Montreal.

It was extremely sad, for several reasons.

Today, however, the Habs announced a minor miracle: Laine has obviously avoided the worst, and we’re only talking about a 2-3 month absence. According to our sources, the fact that Laine played with a knee brace on Saturday night may have saved him from a far more gruesome injury.

This is excellent news for fans, but especially for the player, whose season is not over. So it gives Laine a chance to enjoy his fresh start this season… and he too was reassuring via his Instagram account:

92 will be back. – Patrik Laine

Patrik Laine on IG:

“Thank you everyone for the love 🫶”

“92 will be back ” pic.twitter.com/8TYBpbUAvB

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 1, 2024

The Finn, who also thanked fans for the dose of love he received, seems to retain a good frame of mind despite the circumstances. We know he was enthusiastic about the idea of relaunching his career in Montreal, and even if it’s going to happen later than expected, disaster seems to have been averted.

And you’d think that for a guy who’s been through a lot in recent years, feeling the love from Montreal fans would have done him a world of good.

It’s a shame that an injury will prevent him from making his regular-season debut next Wednesday, but we can expect to see him get another big dose of love from the fans at the Bell Centre during the opening game. He may not be in uniform, but that won’t stop fans from showing him (yet again) their support.

And when we hear Darren Dreger say that Laine “will miss a maximum of two and a half months”, it shows once again that he’s avoided the worst. He’s not out of the woods yet (such injuries can take longer than expected to heal, and he could be out for more than three months), but the road to a return to action is already less winding than it seemed last night.