Confirmed with Link: Laine, 2nd 2026 to Montreal for Jordan Harris

[majormajor]

Maybe he is a Laine's fan, but he has insides

Button has strong opinions on all sorts of topics that he doesn't have insider knowledge on. That's his role here.

Buttons criticism of the team isn’t wrong

It is straight up wrong.

What's striking to me is that Patrik Laine is the one coming in after our one period of respectability - four straight playoff appearances and two straight years with post-season victories - and shares in the responsibility for the "island of misfit toys" and "less than the sum of their parts" problem that we've had since then.

So, far from it that we've always been just a game on the schedule, that apparently got our ineffable stink all over the great Laine and ruined him. Button managed to get this very nearly backwards.

 

[Xoggz22]

Buttons criticism of the team isn’t wrong but to completely absolve Laine of any problems isn’t right. Button has always been a big Laine guy, which is fine, but he’s had his own share of problems with two teams now. Sometimes it’s a you problem.

Come on... he's going to a Canadian team. They can't be wrong. Button is an idiot anyway. When Columbus starts winning he'll point to the fact they had a great core, it was right there for years, they were always a tough out even when they were terrible... He's a blow hard. I wish Laine well. I liked him and wanted it to work but it's too easy for some of these asshats. CBJ absolutely needs to make it harder for them to use that narrative.

 

[VT]

Button has strong opinions on all sorts of topics that he doesn't have insider knowledge on. That's his role here.



It is straight up wrong.

What's striking to me is that Patrik Laine is the one coming in after our one period of respectability - four straight playoff appearances and two straight years with post-season victories - and shares in the responsibility for the "island of misfit toys" and "less than the sum of their parts" problem that we've had since then.

So, far from it that we've always been just a game on the schedule, that apparently got our ineffable stink all over the great Laine and ruined him. Button managed to get this very nearly backwards.

I believe him that Laine was not cancer, btw Matthieu Perreault said about him in Jets too. It interesting me. And think every insider knows if players are cancer or not. What tells about the reason why he wanted to be traded does not interest me, because I doubt that he knows it.

Regarding the mess, I think he was talking about the quality of team management and not specifically about the players. Btw, remember that I think Portzline (correct me if I am wrong) said that the players didn't want to go here because of the management, not the city and so on.

But once again, he is a public figure, he must control himself what he says and how he says it, and not insult the fans.

 

[VT]

Come on... he's going to a Canadian team. They can't be wrong. Button is an idiot anyway. When Columbus starts winning he'll point to the fact they had a great core, it was right there for years, they were always a tough out even when they were terrible... He's a blow hard. I wish Laine well. I liked him and wanted it to work but it's too easy for some of these asshats. CBJ absolutely needs to make it harder for them to use that narrative.

But you forgot a few things (because his words were not be about players):

1. The new GM.
2. The new head coach, and an experienced one, is nominated for Jack Adams Trophy and no inexperienced coaches like Larsen and Vincent were.
3. New assistant coaches, again, experienced.
4. If we win, there will be no many injuries.
5. The youngs get experiences.

And I think the first point is very important. You were right, Jarmo is a great scout but probably not GM. But on the other hand, without this, we would not have Fantilli and Lindstrom. And he found Voronkov, Chinakhov and Marchenko.

 

[CBJx614]

I will say if the next two years in Montreal look anything like the last 4 years here, the narrative will QUICKLY change because that fan base will turn on him as the honeymoon phase will be long gone.

 

[VT]

I will say if the next two years in Montreal look anything like the last 4 years here, the narrative will QUICKLY change because that fan base will turn on him as the honeymoon phase will be long gone.

4 years? The first yes, he was total recal awful but no other seasons. Although... Habs' fans are different. One day can be a hero, on the second day an enemy of the fatherland and on the third day again a hero and so on.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

I will say if the next two years in Montreal look anything like the last 4 years here, the narrative will QUICKLY change because that fan base will turn on him as the honeymoon phase will be long gone.

For sure, but they do have better odds of making it work than CBJ ever did. Looking back at it, it was really a recipe for failure to bring him in with into a rebuild with unsuitable coach and untreated mental health issues. Obviously Jarmo couldn't have known how things would work out, so can't really blame him either imo. Hindsight is 20/20

 

[NotWendell]

But you forgot a few things (because his words were not be about players):

1. The new GM.
2. The new head coach, and an experienced one, is nominated for Jack Adams Trophy and no inexperienced coaches like Larsen and Vincent were.
3. New assistant coaches, again, experienced.
4. If we win, there will be no many injuries.
5. The youngs get experiences.

And I think the first point is very important. You were right, Jarmo is a great scout but probably not GM. But on the other hand, without this, we would not have Fantilli and Lindstrom. And he found Voronkov, Chinakhov and Marchenko.

I'll give him credit for the last 3 you mentioned, but everyone's draft board had Fantilli and Lindstrom very high on it.

 

[VT]

I will give my opinion, and in my opinion, the topics on Lyne can be closed. Minimum for me. Of course, I mean the reasons for leaving, his play here and generally whether he was a cancer on the team or not.

1. We'll likely never know the reasons why Lainee decided to leave.
2. His problem was probably how he experienced failure, judging by this, rather than his behaviour in the locker room.
3. Porty talks about the events of three years ago, but doesn't say a word about the events that followed. And yet he had the opportunity to build an insider network. That goes for other people associated with the players as well.
4. Played great for two seasons, especially the 2022/23 season.
5. From all the information, the mental health issues may have started after the death of his father. And thanks to injuries, they got progressively worse. But we won't know that either.
6. No one is infallible, so it is impossible to say that someone is, as the Russians say, white and fluffy. Only, pardon the expression, an idiot, would make him a commitment victim. And that goes for every player.

Next. I accept criticism without any problems, the fact that part of our managment lacked managerial qualities is understandable. The same thing happens in the army. A person can be an excellent staff officer, but he cannot always lead the entire army, for this you need other qualities. But at that time an excellent Chief of General Staff might not have been such a good staff officer. In short, Jarmo probably lacked those qualities, and that's why things went wrong. I think that's what Button was talking about. It would have been the right thing to do, proper criticism is necessary. But he managed to insult the team and the fans. I think that's piggish

 

[VT]

I'll give him credit for the last 3 you mentioned, but everyone's draft board had Fantilli and Lindstrom very high on it.

As for Fantilli and Lindstrom (he didn't pick him again, by the way), I mean draft pick.

 

[NotWendell]

I think it's as simple as Laine went through a rough stretch of his life. His Dad dying, going home to Finland only to get injured, more injuries on top of that, his team losing more than they won, then mental health challenges that couldn't be stuffed in a box anymore. It's logical for him to think a change of venue will change his fortunes. Or it could prove to be a fool's errand.

I'm rooting for him, just not at our expense.

 

[ProfessorFink22]

Let that sink in

We just traded a 26 year old forward who was a PPG player for us 2 seasons out of 4 for a no name defensemen AND we added a 2nd round pick

As well as about 7 million bucks in cap space. That might not mean as much right now to us, given we aren't up on the cap, but it definitely matters. There's a reason we didn't retain (even though I would have rather we did). I'll wager ownership had a say/preference.

We've seen the cost of teams dumping cap space before, it's not nothing. Taking the financials out of the equation is just moving goalposts on any trade in today's NHL.

 

[CBJx614]

As well as about 7 million bucks in cap space. That might not mean as much right now to us, given we aren't up on the cap, but it definitely matters. There's a reason we didn't retain (even though I would have rather we did). I'll wager ownership had a say/preference.

We've seen the cost of teams dumping cap space before, it's not nothing. Taking the financials out of the equation is just moving goalposts on any trade in today's NHL.

I agree.

It's not cleared the air of any current or potential future drama that could've arisen, especially if Laine and his agent were telling Waddell he wasn't going to play any more games in Columbus (don't think that was ever confirmed)

Either way, it was clear Waddell wanted him out to not have that hanging over their heads going into and potentially dragging through the season. Clearly it was a big enough deal that they would take a loss to be done with it.


And now we're learning that he might be making some more moves now that he has cap space and knows what he has to work with. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make one more middling move for the team. Don't expect to see an all star or anything, but maybe someone to shore up the bottom 6 a little bit better.

 

[Xoggz22]

Sometimes cleaning up prior mistakes can be painful. This wasn't so bad and the player was open about wanting to get out. No position of strength here at all. Cut the cord and move on

 

[niflheim]

strange article from russian Sport Express

(Карьера финской звезды пошла под откос. Поможет ли Лайне обмен в «Монреаль»?)

«The Canadiens are the perfect team to revive a career. Talented youth, a trusting coach. For example, Monahan was brought back to the top by the Habs when they gave him a chance in 2022. Likewise, Laine was taken now in the hopes of seeing the Finn in his best form sooner or later. But Monahan and Laine have slightly different situations. The former had a slump due to numerous injuries, while Laine's problems include both injuries and an addiction to video games. This is much more serious: psychological problems drag you down much more strongly»


another one from 2014 (Pikkuleijonien kohulupaus passitettiin kotiin: "Helppo päätös")
«After Tuesday's loss against the Czech Republic, Patrik Laine, 16, who showed the middle finger to the Finnish U-18 team's head coach Mika Marttila and shouted death threats at him, has been sent home in the middle of the tournament»

I'm not a VGA expert, but maybe this story goes back to childhood (the younger generation spends a lot of time online now)

 

[CBJx614]

I'm just ready to not have to talk about Laine anymore. Getting our hopes up only to get hurt and wash rinse and repeat.

 

[VT]

D

 

[VT]

strange article from russian Sport Express

(Карьера финской звезды пошла под откос. Поможет ли Лайне обмен в «Монреаль»?)

«The Canadiens are the perfect team to revive a career. Talented youth, a trusting coach. For example, Monahan was brought back to the top by the Habs when they gave him a chance in 2022. Likewise, Laine was taken now in the hopes of seeing the Finn in his best form sooner or later. But Monahan and Laine have slightly different situations. The former had a slump due to numerous injuries, while Laine's problems include both injuries and an addiction to video games. This is much more serious: psychological problems drag you down much more strongly»


another one from 2014 (Pikkuleijonien kohulupaus passitettiin kotiin: "Helppo päätös")
«After Tuesday's loss against the Czech Republic, Patrik Laine, 16, who showed the middle finger to the Finnish U-18 team's head coach Mika Marttila and shouted death threats at him, has been sent home in the middle of the tournament»

I'm not a VGA expert, but maybe this story goes back to childhood (the younger generation spends a lot of time online now)

This Russian article is just bullshit.

The author writes about problems with addiction to video games, which were not a problem already in his last season in the Jets.

He writes that he is married. I wonder if Patrik himself knows about this?

Also about the events in Columbus three years ago, although a lot has changed since that moment. Btw, nobody writes about him something bad. Moreover, he does not write about Fantilli's, Olivier's, Gaudreau's and Werenski's words if about 2024 year.

She writes about bad stats. But the author most likely has problems understanding the text or did not study statistics at all, because then she would have learned the exact opposite.

Further, if the Laine did not want to leave, no one would trade him. Btw our GM is Don Waddell and not John Davidson.

 

[majormajor]

Russian articles about non Russian players should not be shared here unless it is the very rare circumstance that there is some credible new information in them.

There's something about the translate button that makes people think there is some hidden truth to be found. In sports media, it's usually just more bullshit.

 

[EspenK]

I'm just ready to not have to talk about Laine anymore. Getting our hopes up only to get hurt and wash rinse and repeat.

Just wait till he breaks William Karlsson's record for most goals in a season post-CBJ

 

[VT]

Russian articles about non Russian players should not be shared here unless it is the very rare circumstance that there is some credible new information in them.

There's something about the translate button that makes people think there is some hidden truth to be found. In sports media, it's usually just more bullshit.

We can say it also about Slovak, Czech articles too. Of course except Slovak and Czech players, although about them not always too.

 

[Marioesque]

Russian....bullshit.

Yeah I would never take Russian reporting seriously.

 

[VT]

Yeah I would never take Russian reporting seriously.

You are making a mistake, Russian journalists more than once do very good analysis, also bloggers have excellent articles.
It's just that players like Laine are perfect for journalists. They can write whatever they want, still 95% of people will believe them. You can find similar articles about him on Slovak or Czech sites. The only difference is the length, as they don't usually get too long over here.

 

[Ice9]

Laine talk cant end quick enough. I wish him no ill will health wise but frankly don't give a damn if he nets another puck in his career. He's gone...

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Laine talk cant end quick enough.

"I really wish the conversation on this topic would end," local man posts on message board thread.