Patrik Laine made a loud fashion statement when he got his first tour of the Canadiens’ locker room at the Bell Centre on Sunday.
That’s not a surprise since the Finnish forward has developed a passion for fashion during his eight seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets.
“It’s Patrik Laine vs. everyone else,” Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic wrote in October 2022 when she placed Laine atop the website’s first NHL style rankings of the season.
The Canadiens acquired Laine from the Blue Jackets on Aug. 19 — along with a second-round pick at the 2026 NHL Draft — in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris.
Laine showed up at the Bell Centre on Sunday in a very colourful outfit. He was wearing a pink ball cap with a white hoodie, black-and-white pants with a pattern that made them look like a mix of sweat pants and pyjamas, along with bright green running shoes.
On top of that outfit, Laine tried on his new Canadiens sweater with his name and No. 92 on the back.
Laine has worn No. 29 since entering the NHL, but the Canadiens have retired that number in honour of Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden. The only other players to wear No. 92 in Canadiens history are Steve Ott (2017), Jonathan Drouin (2018-22) and Nicolas Beaudin (2024).
The only former Canadien to compete with Laine when it comes to loud fashion statements would be P.K. Subban. Arber Xhekaj and Michael Pezzetta are two current Canadiens who also have a passion for fashion.
On Tuesday, Laine skated with some of his new teammates — including captain Nick Suzuki — at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard.
In an interview last year with Columbus Monthly, Laine spoke about his interest in fashion and noted that he uses Columbus designer Ethan Weisman of Pantheon Limited for many of his flashy suits, but insisted he doesn’t dress to impress.
“I just do my thing,” Laine said.
Laine also told Columbus Monthly that he used to be a “track suits, sweatpants” kind of guy but that over the previous couple of years he got more into fashion.
“I’m open to wearing any colours,” Laine told Columbus Monthly. “The more colourful, the better.”
When asked how he dresses on a day off, Laine said: “Probably 75 per cent of my closet is from Lululemon, so usually their clothes and whatever different, weird colours I have, I’ll just throw them on. It’s more about being relaxed off the ice. I never wear jeans; I just don’t think they’re comfortable at all. Why wear jeans at home when I can wear shorts or sweatpants or underwear?”
Laine added that he doesn’t worry about the reaction of other people to his colourful outfits.
“I’m just doing it because I like it,” he told Columbus Monthly. “There’s been some positive reactions so far, but even if it was negative, I wouldn’t really care.”
Some dates to mark down
The Canadiens announced some dates to remember on Tuesday as the team prepares for the 2024-25 season.
Rookie camp will start next Wednesday (Sept. 11) when players report for medical and fitness testing at the CN Sports Complex. The camp will wrap up with two Prospect Showdown games against Toronto Maple Leafs rookies to be played on Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 15 at the Bell Centre. Both games start at 1 p.m. There are still a few tickets available in the upper deck of the Bell Centre for both games on the Canadiens’ website at a cost of $10 each.
The Canadiens will hold their annual golf tournament at Laval-sur-le-Lac on Monday, Sept. 16, and the main training camp will open on Wednesday, Sept. 18, when players report for medicals and fitness testing.
The first of six preseason games — including four at the Bell Centre — will be on Monday, Sept. 23, when the Philadelphia Flyers will be the visitors.
The Canadiens will open the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 9, when the Maple Leafs will be the visitors at the Bell Centre.