Canadiens’ Emil Heineman struck by car in Utah, will miss 3-4 weeks

Montréal Canadiens forward Emil Heineman is recovering after being struck by a car while walking in Salt Lake City on Monday evening, ahead of Tuesday’s game there against Utah Hockey Club. The team said Heineman will miss three to four weeks with an “upper-body” injury sustained in the accident, which sources believed to be a wrist injury.

Salt Lake City Police told Daily Faceoff on Tuesday they were still gathering information on the accident.

Heineman, 23, was in the midst of an impressive rookie season for Montréal. Despite limited ice time, Heineman became an impact player skating on the Habs’ third line with Jake Evans and Joel Armia. During a 10-game stretch from Dec. 12 to Jan. 3, Heineman registered four goals and nine points as the Canadiens rocketed up the standings.

That line was one of the best in the league over the last month, helping power Montreal to wins in nine of their last 11 games prior to Saturday’s shootout loss against Dallas. Together they had outscored the opposition 9-1 and outshot them 57-29, according to SportLogIQ.

A native of Leksand, Sweden, Heineman was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round in 2020 at 43rd overall. His name may be familiar to fans because his NHL rights were traded twice before he even arrived on North American soil, first to Calgary in the Sam Bennett trade in 2021, and then again to Montréal for a deal involving Tyler Toffoli in 2022.

The Canadiens were not expected to make a recall from AHL Laval in time for Tuesday’s game in Salt Lake City. Michael Pezzetta is likely to return to the Habs’ lineup, while center Alex Newhook is still recovering from an illness and remains an option to play despite missing practice on Monday.