Montreal Canadiens rookie out for a month after being hit by a car

The Montreal Canadiens arrived Sunday in Salt Lake City for their first game at the Utah Hockey Club's arena.

Unfortunately, a terrible accident occurred yesterday evening.

Indeed, only a day after the Pittsburgh Penguins forward Michael Bunting was involved in a car accident outside the PPG Paints Arena, the Canadiens announced that the Swedish rookie Emil Heineman was hit by a car last night, which will force him to miss three to four weeks of action with an upper-body injury.

Insider Frank Seravalli shared the news on X:

Additional details should be released soon, but what's intriguing is that the news circulated in Sweden first:

This is a tough loss for the team, but also for the player. Heineman, 23, had a great first campaign in the NHL, standing at the seventh rank for points among rookies, tallying 17 points in 41 games.

Drafted 43rd overall in 2020 by the Florida Panthers, he was traded to the Calgary Flames in 2021 before joining the Montreal Canadiens in the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to the Flames in 2022.

His development curve has been impressive. After he was drafted, he spent two seasons in Sweden before joining the Habs' AHL affiliate team: the Laval Rocket.

Last season, in 48 AHL games, he scored 15 goals and 14 assists. It'll be interesting to see at what rhythm he can perform when he returns to the lineup.

The Canadiens will be back on the ice tonight against Utah HC. Fans are eager to see who will take Heineman's spot on the lineup, but with the game being today, we'll likely see Michael Pezzetta being sent on the ice.

Meanwhile, we send our best wishes to Heineman in his recovery.