Patrik Laine informs NHL GM's of his next plans

Patrik Laine apparently isn't ready to give up on his NHL career just yet, even as the clock continues to tick on the former superstar winger's playing future.

According to ESPN insider Emily Kaplan, the unsigned forward has absolutely no intention of taking his talents overseas, despite the uncertainty surrounding his next contract and his increasingly difficult path back to becoming an impact player in the NHL.

"As Patrik Laine remains unsigned, I’m told he has zero intention of signing in Europe. The longer this goes on, the more he says he’s motivated to prove people wrong," Kaplan reported.

It's an interesting update on a player who, not that long ago, looked like he could become one of the most dangerous goal scorers in the entire league. Laine entered the NHL with enormous expectations after the Winnipeg Jets selected him second overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, and he wasted little time showing why.

Unfortunately, the last several years have been a frustrating combination of injuries, inconsistent availability and missed opportunities. Now, with Laine still searching for his next NHL contract, questions about whether his career at the highest level is nearing its end are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Laine may be motivated to prove his doubters wrong, but finding a team willing to give him that opportunity is another matter entirely.

The Finnish winger's NHL career began with a bang. During his rookie season with Winnipeg in 2016-17, Laine scored 36 goals and finished as a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He followed that up with a 44-goal campaign in 2017-18, establishing himself as one of the NHL's premier young shooting talents.

At just 20 years old, Laine appeared destined to spend the next decade terrorizing opposing goaltenders.

Instead, his career has taken a dramatically different turn.

After several productive seasons in Winnipeg, Laine was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in January 2021. Although he continued to demonstrate his ability to score in bunches, consistency and availability became increasingly significant concerns. His time in Columbus was interrupted by injuries, and he struggled to put together the sustained run of production that had once made him such an exciting player.

Laine eventually landed with the Montreal Canadiens in 2024, offering him what many hoped would be an opportunity to reset his career. Montreal needed offensive firepower, and a healthy Laine theoretically had the tools to provide exactly that.

But the injury problems followed him to Quebec.

Laine missed the opening portion of the 2024-25 campaign after undergoing surgery for a knee injury suffered during the preseason. Although he eventually returned and demonstrated that his trademark shot remained dangerous, his availability continued to be a major concern. His time with the Canadiens never developed into the consistent, transformative offensive contribution that either side would have wanted.

For a player whose greatest asset has always been his scoring ability, repeated interruptions to his development and momentum have proved particularly damaging.

And now, Laine finds himself without an NHL contract.

The numbers from his final two seasons in Montreal tell a particularly concerning story. Laine scored 20 goals and recorded 33 points in 52 games during the 2024-25 season, but managed just one assist in five appearances in 2025-26 before a core muscle injury requiring surgery ended his campaign.

That is an incredibly small sample size for a player who needs to demonstrate that he can remain healthy over an entire NHL season.

Laine is only 28 years old, which makes his current predicament even more remarkable. Plenty of NHL players enjoy productive careers well into their 30s, and Laine's shooting ability has not simply disappeared. His power-play scoring in Montreal during 2024-25 showed that he can still be dangerous in the right role.

However, NHL teams are not simply evaluating his shot. They are evaluating whether he can stay healthy, contribute consistently at five-on-five and justify taking up a roster spot that could otherwise go to a younger player with more upside.

And so far, nobody has been willing to make that commitment.

There have been reports of potential interest from teams looking for affordable offensive help, including the Los Angeles Kings, but interest in exploring an option is not the same thing as an actual contract offer.

Kaplan's report makes it clear that Laine still believes he has something left to prove. There is nothing wrong with that mentality, and a motivated Laine could conceivably earn another opportunity if injuries create a need for scoring help somewhere around the league.

But the longer he remains unsigned, the more difficult it becomes to imagine a realistic comeback.

Laine's NHL career may not officially be over, but it is increasingly difficult to argue that he still has a meaningful future in the league. A former second-overall pick who once scored 44 goals in a season is now approaching November without a team, despite being available to sign on what could be a relatively low-risk deal.

That is a sobering reality for a player who once looked destined to become one of the NHL's premier goal scorers.

Laine's refusal to consider Europe suggests he remains convinced that another NHL opportunity is coming. Perhaps it will. One injury to a top-six forward or one desperate team searching for power-play help could change the equation overnight.

But motivation alone cannot erase years of injuries, missed games and declining availability. Unless an NHL club decides that Laine's remaining offensive upside outweighs those concerns, he could soon discover that there is a difference between believing your career is not finished and having an NHL team agree with you.

For now, Laine is determined to prove the doubters wrong. Unfortunately, the league's apparent reluctance to sign him suggests that his biggest obstacle may no longer be proving himself on the ice. It may be finding a team willing to let him get back on it.