Patrik Laine reportedly blocked a trade to New York Rangers divisional rivals

According to a recent report from Montreal Canadiens insider Maxime Truman of Dans Les Coulisses ('Behind the Scenes'), Patrik Laine turned down a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers before agreeing to a contract with the Canadiens.

During the recent 'Laraque & Gonzalez show' with former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque, Truman stated that Laine used his no-trade clause to block a trade with the Flyers for Ryan Johansen.

The understanding was the Flyers terminated Johansen's contract with the idea of him returning to the Columbus Blue Jackets and being placed on long-term injury reserve (LTIR) for salary cap benefits.

Here's the full story (In French):

https://www.youtube.com/live/vJQ5SAL_KC0?si=ZyNnkuRd-3RdDPj3

It's probably safe to say that Laine wasn't satisfied with what the Flyers had to offer, and didn't want to be under the coaching of John Tortorella again, as Laine played a season for him with the Blue Jackets back in 2020-21 before Tortorella moved to the Flyers.

Source: Hockey Feed
Laine reportedly blocked trade to Flyers