The Detroit Red Wings are among the teams that have discussed signing unrestricted free agent forward Patrik Laine, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Insider Trading this week. The report is unconfirmed, and the Red Wings have not commented or announced any agreement.
LeBrun said the Calgary Flames have also talked about Laine internally but want to look at their younger players first, and that multiple teams have checked in on him at different points. Laine is in Florida waiting for a call, according to the report. LeBrun also noted that Detroit has other matters to sort out first, a nod to the ongoing Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson situations, and The Hockey Writers relayed his comment that he would not rule out Detroit as a fit for a reunion with veteran David Perron.
Laine, 28, went unsigned through the summer after his four-year, $34.8 million contract expired. He played only five games for the Montreal Canadiens last season after core muscle surgery in October 2025. His agent, Andy Scott, has said Laine is healthy and skating every day. LeBrun expects any new deal to come in well below his previous $8.7 million cap hit, with much of the money tied to performance bonuses.
The Finnish winger has 224 goals and 422 points in 537 NHL games with Winnipeg, Columbus, and Montreal. His career high is 44 goals with the Jets in 2017-18, and he had 20 goals and 33 points in 52 games with Montreal in 2024-25.
Detroit has struggled to score early this season. The Red Wings were shut out 2-0 by the Rangers on opening night and scored twice in a 3-2 loss to Winnipeg before beating Ottawa 5-3 on Tuesday. They have about $16 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia. The Red Wings host the Seattle Kraken on Friday night.
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