I am not sure why the new narrative on Laine is "wow Montreal. Nice pick up you got there".
This is risky. He cost a lot of $$$$. What is to say that his 3rd team is now the right one?
I was laughing at MTL today. Why aren't you laughing?
It's not really risky though, because it's only cost cap space on a team that doesn't really care about wasting cap space right now. Worst case he's garbage and they bought a 2nd round pick.
If he stays healthy and plays even decent they retain and get more picks/prospects for him in the future.
He gets his act together and plays well and they either trade him for a haul or see him as a long term piece. Even if you think this outcome is unlikely, which I'd agree that it probably is, there's potential for significant upside here for the Habs and little downside.
It's what all bad teams should do. Use your cap space to your advantage and take chances on guys with upside. It's basically the opposite of what the Sens have done, they're a bad team that trades futures for guys at peak value, tanks them, and then sells for peanuts.