Patrik Laine’s summer has turned into one of the strangest free-agent stories left on the board.
The unrestricted free agent winger is still unsigned as August approaches, and the market around him has stayed quiet enough to raise real questions about both his landing spot and the kind of deal he can command for 2026-27. For a player with his track record, that’s a jarring place to be.
The New York Islanders have been one of the few teams tied to Laine, but their interest appears limited. Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters reported earlier this summer that the Islanders had shown some interest, and now there’s a clearer picture of how far that went. According to Rosner, the Islanders “did have conversations with Patrik Laine’s camp when free agency opened,” but they were not, and are not, willing to go beyond “anything more than a Professional Tryout (PTO)” for training camp and the now-shortened preseason.
Rosner also said the Islanders “already have a logjam at forward,” which makes a return to the Laine conversation unlikely now that the initial interest has cooled.
That leaves Laine in an uncertain spot. The list of teams credibly linked to him has been tiny this summer, with the Islanders and Los Angeles Kings the only clubs mentioned in a meaningful way. In the Kings’ case, that reported interest came closer to the trade deadline, so whether it still carries over into the offseason is unclear.
Laine remains a difficult player to place because the upside is obvious, but the commitment is not. He can still be viewed as the most talented player available in unrestricted free agency, yet he’s also the kind of name few teams seem ready to lock into a guaranteed role for next season.
Health is not believed to be the issue. Laine is reportedly fully healthy and ready for training camp.
The problem is the recent availability, or lack of it. He played only five games in 2025-26.
The season before that, he appeared in 52. Over the last five NHL seasons, he has played in 186 games out of 410 his teams played.
Even with the injuries and absences, Laine’s scoring touch still matters. He’s long been one of the league’s purest snipers, even if he’s nowhere near the 40-goal form he once showed with the Winnipeg Jets.
He also proved in Montreal that he can still help a power play. In 2024-25, Laine scored 20 goals, and 15 of them came on the man advantage.
That total ranked fifth in the NHL, despite him playing in just 52 games.
That’s why any team still circling him is probably thinking about the power play first. There are still clubs looking for offense this late in the summer, including the New York Rangers, who The Athletic’s Vince Z.
Mercogliano reported earlier this week are still “actively seeking” more offensive firepower. Whether a team like that sees Laine as the answer is another matter.
For now, the most notable part of Laine’s market is how little there is of it. Rosner’s reporting suggests there may be teams with some interest, but only if Laine is willing to take a tryout route.
That’s not where anyone would have expected a player with his talent to be. But with no contract in hand and the calendar moving toward camp, Laine may eventually have to earn his next NHL deal the hard way.
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Laines game has come with real baggage, especially at five-on-five and with the injuries that have interrupted his recent seasons, but the scoring touch has not disappeared. For a team that does not need him to drive play up and down the ice so much as punish opponents when the man advantage opens a lane, that makes the fit at least worth serious attention, even if the rest of the picture remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]