Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens announced that left wing Emil Heineman will miss three to four weeks after suffering an upper-body injury Monday following a traffic accident as a pedestrian.

Per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, Heineman was hit by a car while walking in downtown Salt Lake City. The Canadiens are in town to play at the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday.

Salt Lake City Police released further information on the incident (h/t Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff).

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was asked for comment by Brogan Houston of the Deseret News, who relayed this response.

The 23-year-old Heineman is in his first full season in the NHL after playing four games with Montreal last year. He has amassed 10 goals and seven assists in 41 games.

Houston also relayed a remark from Montreal left wing Michael Pezzetta, who noted that Heineman was supposed to go to a dinner with teammates last night.

This was a potentially tragic situation, but thankfully, the injury doesn't appear to be too serious. He'll obviously be out for up to a month but should return to the ice before long. Hopefully, he recovers to 100 percent healthy ASAP and can get back on the shorter end of the three-to-four week timeline.

Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine will be sidelined for "two to three months" with a left knee sprain, the team announced on Tuesday.

The Canadiens noted the injury will not require surgery.

Laine posted on social media Tuesday:

The Canadiens traded defenseman Jordan Harris and received a 2026 second-round pick to acquire Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets in August.

The team will open the 2024-25 season without Laine next Wednesday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Laine suffered the injury on Saturday during a preseason loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Canadiens winger left the contest after suffering a knee-on-knee collision with Cedric Pare early in the first period. He was seen wearing a knee brace and walking on crutches during practice on Monday.

The short end of the Canadiens' projected recovery timeline puts Laine on track to miss about 20 games and return at the beginning of December.

He last played a full season during his 2018-19 campaign with the Winnipeg Jets, and has not played more than 60 games in a season since his midseason trade from the Jets to the Blue Jackets in 2021.

Laine was limited to 18 appearances for the Blue Jackets last season prior to requesting a trade from his former team.

He last skated in regular-season NHL action on Dec. 14 before he was sidelined by a broken clavicle, then joined the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28. He subsequently underwent shoulder surgery this summer.

Laine was cleared to return from the player assistance program on July 26, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, and told reporters he had been cleared to skate as of August 19.

The rebuilding Canadiens were expecting to give Laine a shot on the second line alongside Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook in hopes that the Canadiens could build out their top six, while Laine would receive power-play opportunities and hopefully recover the sharpshooting abilities the former No. 2 pick demonstrated early in his Jets career.

Instead Laine will work on recovering, while the Canadiens will spend the remainder of the preseason experimenting with different line combinations.

Options for the right side of the second line could include dividing the top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, or moving fellow right-handed shooter Josh Anderson into the top six while using rookie Emil Heineman to fill in for him on a lower line.

The Canadiens will get their next chance to experiment with their lineups on Tuesday night during a home preseason contest against the Ottawa Senators.

Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield will wear No. 13 this season in honor of late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau.

Caufield, who has worn No. 22 for his four seasons with the Canadiens, announced the change Tuesday on Instagram.

Caufield wrote:

We all lost an amazing person, both on and off the ice, in last week's tragedy. My deepest condolences go to the entire Gaudreau family, especially Johnny's wife and two kids, who I had the pleasure of meeting. Nothing will be able to fill the void in their families and loved ones hearts, but I hope it provides some comfort to know how these two positively impacted the lives of so many. They will truly be missed.

Getting to play with your hero is something that most people only dream of. I was lucky enough to be Johnny's teammate this past summer and it didn't take long to realize how great of a person he was. He was the most welcoming, genuine, and funniest guy I have ever met. He was someone everyone gravitated towards and I took every chance I could to be around him. Not only was he an amazing hockey player and teammate, but he was down to earth and truly cared about every person he encountered.

The last few years playing as #22 have been some of the best years of my life. It truly has been a dream come true and I will forever hold those memories and that number close to me. I wore #13 at a point in my career because of Johnny and now I will be wearing it again to honor him. He paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level. I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.

Rest in Peace, Johnny hockey.

Gaudreau, who wore No. 13 for eight seasons with the Calgary Flames and two with the Columbus Blue Jackets, died Thursday at age 31.

He was survived by his wife, Meredith, and their two children.

Caufield and Gaudreau played together on the United States men's national ice hockey team during the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia.

The two were also each Hobey Baker Award winners as the best players in college hockey, with Gaudreau claiming the trophy with Boston College in 2014 before Caufield earned the honor in 2021 with Wisconsin.

Gaudreau was also connected to Caufield through his role in promoting undersized forwards as a draft target for teams.

Listed at 5'6" and 137 pounds heading into the 2011 NHL draft, Gaudreau did not expect to hear his name called by any NHL team (h/t The Athletic's Hailey Salvian) before he was selected in the fourth round by the Calgary Flames.

Gaudreau went from being a fringe draft pick to a full-time NHL player and 20-goal scorer during the 2014-15 season. That was the beginning of a career that would lead Gaudreau to record 40 goals and 115 points for the Flames in 2021-22.

Five years after Gaudreau had established himself in the NHL, Caufield, listed at 5'7", entered the 2019 draft and was selected at No. 15 by the Canadiens.

After having No. 22 assigned to him as a rookie, Caufield will now honor Gaudreau's legacy during his fifth NHL season.

Caufield's jersey change is not the only way members of the NHL community are paying tribute to Gaudreau. The Flames and Blue Jackets are both hosting candlelight vigils on Wednesday evening in honor of Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau.

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired Patrik Laine and a 2026 second-round draft pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jordan Harris.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had previously reported Monday that talks between the Canadiens and Blue Jackets regarding the forward had gained "traction."

That the Blue Jackets, who are the team trading away the more notable player and seemingly in rebuilding mode after a fourth straight losing season, were the ones also moving a draft pick is somewhat surprising.

Still, they will at least have more financial flexibility since they did not retain any of Laine's $8.7 million salary, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Laine's time with Columbus also seemed to be over even before this trade.

He played just 18 games this past season because of a fractured left clavicle and then entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in January.

"After careful consideration and discussion with my support network and the team, I have recognized the importance of prioritizing my mental health and well-being," Laine said on Instagram at the time (h/t Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press). "Hockey has been my passion and my life, but I have come to realize that in order to perform at my best, I need to take this time to focus on myself."

Pierre LeBrun of TSN reported in June that Laine and the Blue Jackets were working together to get a deal done this offseason.

Columbus' loss is Montreal's gain, as the Canadiens will have more firepower on their offense if Laine can stay healthy. The 2017 All-Star led the league with 20 power-play goals during his second NHL season in 2017-18 on his way to a career-high 70 points on 44 goals and 26 assists.

He started his career with four straight seasons of 50 or more points on the Winnipeg Jets and notched 56 points in 2021-22 and 52 points in 2022-23 for the Blue Jackets.

As for Columbus, Harris will provide additional defensive depth.

The 24-year-old appeared in 56 games last season and posted 14 points and a plus-minus total of minus-five.