The second pre-season game between Montreal and Toronto had plenty of feeling to it, however that only came after forward Cedric Pare took out Canadiens forward Patrik Laine with a knee-on-knee collision that caused the veteran forward to be helped off the ice.
The injury looked brutal in real time, and while there's no official update yet on Laine's condition, it's safe to say that watching him hobble off the ice, it didn't look good for his hopes of being ready for the regular season opener, also at the Bell Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Later in the game, defenseman Arber Xhekaj took the fight back to Toronto, targeting Cedric Pare, and while it will likely result in a suspension, he believed that he needed to stand up for his team.
Unfortunately, the worst part came after the game, when Pare fronted the media to address the situation, and while he showed remorse with the words he spoke, his smiles and his body language showed the exact opposite.
Given that at 25-years of age, Pare has never come close to sniffing an NHL game, there's no chance he does so in 2024/25, which makes the entire situation worse, as Laine could miss time for a player that won't factor in beyond the pre-season. Hopefully Pare can apologize with some honesty at some point, but for now we are awaiting an update on Laine after a career AHLer seemingly targeted his knee, and that's simply not the way things should work.
POLL | ||
29 SEPTEMBRE | 167 ANSWERS Maple Leafs forward shows concerning lack of remorse after his play resulted in a Patrik Laine injury Should Cedric Pare face a suspension for his actions that led to the Patrik Laine injury? | ||
Yes | 107 | 64.1 % |
No | 60 | 35.9 % |
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