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Upon returning early last season, Laine scored 20 goals in 52 games, with most coming on the power play. This season, Laine has been held goal-less through five games, and has now had core muscle surgery, keeping him out until February. In the upcoming offseason, Laine will be 28 years old and an unrestricted free agent. David Pagnotta stated on Daily Faceoff Live that, “I think everybody’s going to wait and see mode with Laine before they determine what path to take with him. He’s got to produce, and perhaps a little bit more five-on-five versus the power play. If you can do that consistently, then I think those talks will start to pick up, but that’s a wait-and-see mode right now.” Now that there will be up to a four-month gap in Laine’s season, there could be a chance that the Canadiens look for more consistency in their lineup and do not bring Laine back in the offseason. Flames Waiting on Kadri & Andersson Trade Conversations A major storyline throughout the 2025 offseason was that everybody was waiting on an Andersson trade, but now that the Flames have come into the season with him, odds are a deal is going to happen closer to the deadline. For Kadri, while trade talks weren’t very prominent, his name keeps appearing. The Flames are off to a miserable 1-7-1 start, seeing them sitting in last place in the league. On an episode of Overdrive, Chris Johnston stated that Andersson and his camp are willing to do an eight-year deal with the Flames, but the team still isn’t sure what their best course of action is. For any team looking to win games, having a great right-shot defeseman like Andersson is a must-have. For the Flames, they were close to a playoff spot last season, and if they were in a position like that again, extension conversations may get some traction, but after the start they have had, they are putting a pause on that. Another key asset they have is Kadri. He would fit in very well as a second-line center on any contending team and would be a huge addition to the top-six. With this season and two more left under contract, Kadri isn’t going to be a rental. Kadri does have a 13-team no-trade list, which could be a factor in trade talks, but the team may not look to move him unless he is okay with it, regardless of the other team’s interest. Pierre LeBrun pitched in with his thoughts on Kadri, noting, “There’s been zero evidence to date that Kadri is interested in leaving. Perhaps that’s a discussion point closer to the March 6 trade deadline if Calgary doesn’t steady its season.”. (from NHL rumblings: Frustrated Flames exploring trade market, teams calling on Yegor Chinakhov, more, The Athletic, Oct. 24, 2025) Woll Back for Maple Leafs As the season was set to begin, the Maple Leafs looked very good with Anthony Stolarz and Woll taking care of the crease. A wrinkle was thrown in when Woll took a personal leave of absence ahead of the start of the season. While speculating on the reason behind the leave won’t help any situation, the team announced that Woll would be re-joining the team. Woll was placed on long-term injured reserve and is therefore ineligible to play until Nov. 1, but he is participating and practicing with the team. The Maple Leafs have currently been relying on Stolarz for the crease, with Cayden Primeau playing in two games. In their last game, Stolarz had taken the night off, and Primeau was backed up by Dennis Hildeby. Both Primeau and Hildeby have something to prove in the crease, but with the return of Woll, Hildeby is likely to be sent back to the American Hockey League, and they will have to decide if they want to run with three goalies, or place Primeau on waivers.
