With less than a month to go before GMs submit their final roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, everyone is speculating who might make it. The Montreal Canadiens have a few serious candidates for three of the four countries.

Nick Suzuki and Samuel Montembeault (maybe less so after his latest cold streak) are getting a look from Canada. With his elite goal-scoring, Cole Caufield could help the USA, and Joel Armia, although enigmatic, has already represented Finland a few times.

However, Finland GM and former Stanley Cup winner Jere Lehtinen says that sniper Patrik Laine has a chance to make the roster. The left winger sustained a knee injury in a 2-1 pre-season loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs and was ruled out for two to three months. After consulting with doctors, the talented scorer elected not to have surgery.

If his recovery is speedy and he only needs two months to recuperate, he’d be able to play from Nov. 28. However, if he does need three months, he would only be ready by December 28. The puck is set to drop on the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 12, but teams have to submit their rosters at the start of December.

Related: Canadiens: Laine Decided Not to Have Surgery

Laine has been a mainstay on the Finnish roster in the past, and in 13 games with the senior team, he has accumulated 12 points. However, he hasn’t played in an NHL regular season game since last December, and when he does return to the lineup, there’s bound to be some rust there.

Looking at the way Kirby Dach has been struggling to find his game since the start of the season, a player who misses a year of action doesn’t come back magically at the same level he was when he was injured. Considering Finland’s other viable options, why would they roll the dice on Laine hitting his stride right away?

The Finns have many great attacking options, including Aleksander Barkov, Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Arturri Lehkonen, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen. However, Laine won’t have clearance to play by the time the final roster is submitted, so it’s not just about him finding his rhythm right away; it’s also about him getting the green light and being medically cleared to play.

Furthermore, when GM Kent Hughes acquired Laine back in August in return for Jordan Harris, most pundits agreed that Laine cost next to nothing (without meaning any disrespect to Harris; he’s a good player, but Montreal had an overabundance of left-shot blueliners), and in assets, that’s true.

Related: Canadiens: About the Harris-Laine Trade

Geoff Molson would probably tell you the sniper didn’t come cheap, though, as he’s the one who has to foot the bill—the $8.7 M annual bill. Injuries are part of the game, and they do happen, but logic dictates the team doesn’t want to pay a player that kind of money to try and see if his knee is 100% better against the toughest possible competition.

The argument this would be a free training camp for Laine doesn’t resonate with me. Other players in the tournament will be at the top of their form and will have four and a half months of intense hockey.

Remember how Oliver Kapanen looked at the start of training camp? In hindsight, he was dominating partly due to the head start he got playing in the SHL pre-season. He looked great against guys who weren’t at the top of their game yet, but he faded a bit once the competition caught up shape-wise. Just this morning, he was loaned to Timra IK in the SHL to carry on developing in a bigger role than the one he had with the Habs.

Related: Montreal Canadiens Training Camp: Kapanen Shines on Day 2

What would be the point of letting Laine throw himself in that kind of action instead of using that time to ease him back in and ensure he’s ready to go when the Canadiens resume their regular season on Feb. 22?

Of course, if Laine is hell-bent on participating in the competition, the Canadiens will have to let him do it, but I’d like to believe he’ll think it over and want to reward Montreal for the faith they put in him when they acquired him. It’s not like there won’t be any other international competitions, by the time the puck drops on the Tournament, the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics will be less than a year away and we know NHLers will be taking part, that’s not too long a wait is it?

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