Montreal Canadiens fans are some of the most passionate in the NHL, but sometimes that’s not always good, as they’ve now unloaded on Patrik Laine during his illness-related absence.

The Montreal Canadiens picked up Patrik Laine this summer, and after a delayed debut with the team, he’s been absolutely red-hot since joining them, tallying 8 goals in just 13 games played, with all 8 of them coming on the Canadiens now deadly powerplay.

In that time, the team has been playing their best hockey of the season, but now, they have announced that he will miss another game with illness, revealing on social media that he’ll miss the road trip to Washington on Friday.

This will be his fourth straight game missing time due to an illness, and while most are very understanding of the situation, some fans have instead suggested that something much, much bigger could be at play, including a potential blockbuster trade involving Laine.

somthin smell fishy here

Another fan on social media was much more direct with their suspicions, suggesting that the team should push for an Elias Pettersson trade, something that has been in the headlines as of late.

Trade for Elias Pettersson

Given that Pettersson has been on the trade block for weeks in Vancouver, it would make sense for a young team like Montreal to investigate the opportunity, and while fans in the arena absolutely love Laine, if there’s a chance to land EP40 via trade, they’d be crazy to not go all in.

Ultimately, it’s very likely that Laine just isn’t at 100% and is looking to recover before getting back on the ice, but there’s always a chance that Montreal is looking to go all-in for a young player like Pettersson to lead them moving forward.