Canadiens' Patrik Laine posts Muhammad Ali's iconic quote after suffering 3-4 month long injury setback

Patrik Laine's string of injuries are set to continue as he is expected to miss months of action due to a knee surgery to repair a core muscle tear on his knee. The Montreal Canadiens star tried to motivate himself despite the setback through a callback to one of the biggest sports legends of all time.

On Instagram, Patrik Laine posted a quote from legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.

"You don't lose if you get knocked down. You lose if you stay down - Muhammad Ali," Laine wrote.

Patrik Laine's Instagram Story (Source: Instagram @patriklaine)

His wife, Jordan Leigh, also reacted to the story with an encouraging message as he tries to recover from the long-term setback.

"Proud of you and your resilience always. Get knocked down 7 times... stand up 8," Leigh wrote.

Patrik Laine's wife Jordan Leigh's Instagram Story (Source: Instagram @jordanleighlaine)

Laine has missed chunks of the last four seasons due to major injuries. While with the Columbus Blue Jackets, he was limited to 56 games in the 2021-22 season due to an oblique and upper-body injury. The following season, an elbow, an ankle sprain, and COVID-19 related complications sidelined him for 27 games.

The biggest struggle of Laine's career came two seasons back when he broke his clavicle in December and was reduced to just 18 games, after initially missing a few games due to an upper-body injury.

The Finnish professional's issues with his knee started last season when, on a second opinion, he forewent going to surgery on the knee sprain that made him miss the first few months of the regular season. The same injury has resurfaced, only this time, a surgery in his last year of the $34.8 million contract seems unavoidable.

Laine scored 20 goals for the Canadiens last season, with 15 of them coming on the power play. The 27-year-old wasn't able to adapt to head coach Martin St. Louis' fast-paced puck-moving gameplay, significantly struggling on five-on-five play but aided the attack in the special teams.

Canadiens will not move Patrik Laine to the LTIR

Had Patrik Laine gone ahead with his surgery last season, the Habs could have had the opportunity to place him on the Long-Term Injured Reserve and use up the $8.7 million cap space to acquire other players.

But with the latest regulations under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, brought forward from next season, each team will only be allowed to use up $3.8 million of their salary cap via the LTIR. The Habs, who have $4.4 million in current cap space, will have to let go of $800K if they were to place Laine on the LTIR.

The decision will be a tricky one for the Canadiens' management as they look to continue after a strong 6-3-0 start to the season. Laine had 1 point in 5 games for Montreal.

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Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy