Montreal Canadiens rookie Heineman injured in traffic accident, team says

A dangerous off-ice incident has left the Montreal Canadiens without one of their top rookies for the foreseeable future.

Emil Heineman was involved in a traffic accident as a pedestrian that resulted in an upper-body injury, which will keep him out of the lineup for the next three-to-four weeks, the team announced Tuesday.

In a statement released by the Salt Lake City police department, they received information about an accident involving a pedestrian just before 3 p.m. local time on Monday.

The initial investigation by responding officers did not uncover any information from the reported area of incident. Hours later, witnesses from a nearby business helped officers identify that the pedestrian involved was Heineman and he “did not show any signs of serious injuries and was being attended to by team doctors.”

Salt Lake City police have since identified all parties involved in the crash and are investigating the matter.

The 23-year-old is tied with Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans for third in Canadiens goal-scoring and is also third among rookies in goals, with 10 in 41 games this season.

A second-round pick in 2020, Heineman spent three seasons in the Swedish Hockey League before joining the AHL-affiliated Laval Rocket at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

After just four NHL appearances in 2023-24, Heineman has become a mainstay on the Canadiens’ fourth line alongside Evans and Joel Armia.

The Canadiens are 20-18-4 this season and have played some of their best hockey as of late, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games to push themselves within striking distance of a wild-card spot.