Patrik Laine is still unsigned, and Pierre LeBrun just linked him to an Original Six team

Patrik Laine is still sitting on his couch in late September, and that alone tells you something about how far his stock has fallen.

The two-time 40-goal scorer remains an unsigned free agent as training camps open across the league, and on Friday, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wondered whether Detroit could finally take a chance on him.

The timing lines up. Head coach Todd McLellan has been blunt about Detroit's need for more even-strength scoring, and interim general manager Shawn Horcoff is staring down a roster that still lacks a true complement on the right side.

LeBrun's post landed right in the middle of that conversation.

Laine was the second overall pick back in 2016, and he still owns one of the most dangerous one-timers in hockey.

Across 537 career games with Winnipeg, Columbus and Montreal, he has 224 goals and 422 points, numbers that read like a franchise cornerstone rather than a player without a contract in mid-September.

His recent health tells a rougher story.

He scored 20 goals in 52 games for Montreal back in 2024-25, but last season an injury limited him to just five games, and he finished with a single assist before landing on the shelf.

Detroit has real cap room to work with, and a short, incentive-laden deal or even a professional tryout would cost almost nothing if it doesn't pan out.

For a team still hunting for its identity under a first-year interim GM, a low-risk swing on a former 40-goal man is at least worth a phone call.

Nothing suggests talks are underway yet.

This is one insider connecting dots out loud, but in a league this small, that's usually how these stories start.

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