LAINE HAS ONLY 70 DAYS LEFT — IS EUROPE ABOUT TO END HIS NHL CAREER? CANADIENS NEWS

Patrik Laine is still unsigned as the 2026-27 NHL season opens, two seasons removed from a 15-power-play-goal, 52-game stretch that ranked fourth in the league. Most coverage treats a possible move to Finland or Switzerland as a career footnote. It isn’t automatically one: CBA Article 13.23 requires waivers for anyone who plays overseas after the NHL season starts, but a 2020 amendment exempts unrestricted free agents through December 15. Sign in Europe and land an NHL deal before that date, and the return is waiver-exempt, the way Dominik Kubalík’s Ambrì-Piotta contract was built. Miss it, and he’s exposed to all 31 other teams the moment he tries to come back. Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky has pegged a possible bargain deal at roughly $1M plus up to $2.5M in bonuses, and Detroit and Los Angeles have reportedly been in contact but told his camp to wait. This video walks through the actual deadline, the Komarov and Puljujärvi precedents that don’t apply to him, and the Zherdev case that shows the same lack of a rights-holder cuts both ways.

Narration are AI generated.

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