Confirmed Trade: [MTL/CBJ] Patrik Laine, '26 2nd for Jordan Harris

[Junohockeyfan]

Tell me you don't understand the player Montreal is getting without telling me you don't understand the player Montreal is getting.

Hughes didn't rob anyone you got a player that hasn't played 82 games since 2019 with mental health issues that tries half the time on an 8.7 cap hit.

Hey Wings fan, just yesterday CBJ fans told me he's a near PPG player (one year removed) who will return value without any retention....

Hughes fleeced em hard!

 

[Essenege]

So Habs got their savior? Great to have someone who the young guys can look up to, and learn how to break out from teams.

Dont understand this move, didnt understand the Tavares move either where Leafs was at the time., and Tavares was a productive C back then

Laine is a project right know and that cap even för 2 years is really a bad signal för the group. Doesnt move the needle either..

Laine is signed for 2 years, not 8 like Tavares…2 years where the Habs won’t be Near contention.

But in the east after the top 6 teams there are reachable playoff spots and this is a good objective for an improving young group. Laine might help on PP1 and on the second line enough to help us reach that first step.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

iunno like... Dvorak and 2 2nds for Laine? Can't imagine that much of a return.

Overly optimistic, as it turns out.

Highway robbery.

A 2nd for Harris would have been great.

Getting Laine above that, notwithstanding his cap hit, might be huge

 

[DCHabitant]

Good deal for Columbus getting out of that contract with no retention imo. His value has definitely dropped since he signed that deal.
I wish him all the best getting his career back on track with a fresh start. But this is still a really risky contract imo.

If it were a 5-6 year deal, I'd agree. But the Habs are not in a cap crunch, and have nothing to lose really. Nothing risked except for a billionaire owners money.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

Nice bit of business for Montreal . Very little cost and risk ; Either he rebuilds his value or he’s only around for a short while . Will this move backfire though if they are still trying for high pics / rebuild? That would be my only qualm

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Any chance we could get Austin Matthews + 2nd for Jayden Struble?

Probably not. We don't have the capspace.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

You never know what someone is going through, I would refrain from assuming you know what's best for Laine and what's not.

So do you know what Laine is going through? This is a forum where losers like all of us talk about stuff we're into. There would be no discussion if we can't speculate and give our dumb opinions.

Get off your high horse.

Wow, was caught up in so much other stuff today and can finally soak in this Laine to Habs stuff.

This should be fun.

 

[DCHabitant]

I'm not sure why everyone is celebrating the Habs getting the second. The guy gets paid 8.7 million with no retention. Let me say that again - 8.7 million per year. This was a cap dump.

Perhaps Laine gets back on track. That would be great. I would say based on what we know about career trajectories, it is incredibly unlikely that he returns to form.

They're not in a cap crunch. Why would I care that Molson is out $17 million.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

Nice bit of business for Montreal . Very little cost and risk ; Either he rebuilds his value or he’s only around for a short while . Will this move backfire though if they are still trying for high pics / rebuild? That would be my only qualm

Wouldn't it only be a downside if he performs so well that the Habs just miss the playoffs or something instead of bottoming out?

 

[McClelland]

Suzuki Caufield Slafkovsky Guhle are all signed long term already. I don't see the parallel with Tavares who was brought in a year before resigning their young core.

Don't think it's the best fit and he's the Savior, but we got paid to take him... It's worth the risk because it's only 2 years.

Okay, the 1st part was good! But cant see the purpose with the trade, cant be the 2nd rounder well?

Oilers has taken on projects, Kane etc. but there wasnt any problem with his on ice performances. And we already had a strong leadergroup.

Laine is a floater, thats not good for the others. Dont blame Laine for all of that.

He and Pulju destroyed back in the juniors finnish coaches had let them cheating on defense, because they produced so much. Same in some junior leauges in Canada. In todays .Nhl you cant have 1 way players. Its not the Kent Nilsson era.

Gl anyway!

 

[Toene]

Werenski, Voronkov, Marchenko, Chinakhov, Tarasov. Picked up Christiansen and Greaves as overage UFA signings around the same age group although it was after the rebuild started.

Yeah; we've since added Fantilli (as acknowledged), Lindstrom, KJ, Jiricek, Mateychuk, Sillinger, Brindley, and Svozil. And a few others that could also turn out of the like that I'm pretty sure Montreal has too. We're very side-by-side; it's entirely a question of whose key guys break out first and it could all very well happen around the same time.

Fair enough. Great prospect pool.

 

[Thechozen1]

Or maybe with how it went with Winnipeg/CBJ a place like Montreal is what he needs.

He’ll never reach the goal scoring heights that he reached in Winnipeg. Those days are long gone. His time in Winnipeg was the best days he will know performance wise.

 

[HockeyVirus]

A 2nd for Harris is already a great return, and we can stomach the caphit because the Habs aren't trying to win the cup the next 2 seasons.

And saying he stinks doesn't make it so. Wishful thinking on your part. Cry more

What are you trying to say here? The Habs were the only team to call and got this awesome steal?

No one wanted Laine for a reason

 

[Benstheman]

Patrice "Pure" Laine.

That’s it. His nickname in Mtl will be « Pure »

 

[HuGort]

Going to be lovely when Laine pots 100 points playing with Caufield and Slafkovsky next season.

What is Laine the center?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Yes. Laine is an $8.7M one dimensional player who has personal issues and has forced his way out of 2 organizations.

Green does not suit you as a color...

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Wouldn't it only be a downside if he performs so well that the Habs just miss the playoffs or something instead of bottoming out?

The team needs to start playing meaningful games at some point and we have more picks and good prospects than we can ever sign or have roster spots for. Last season we lost an ungodly number of games by one goal so if Laine turns it around then Hughes can easily flip the switch to move to contender

 

[nbwingsfan]

There’s absolutely no downside to this from Montreal

Worst case scenario he struggles find his game but they aren’t competing for a while anyways so the cap space is kind of irrelevant. This seems like the most likely scenario because I don’t see the media circus that is Montreal being great for Laine’s head

Best case scenario they just got a legitimate superstar in his prime for free

Sucks for Columbus but there was little else they could do, was best to just cut ties

At least they also gave up a dud in PLD for him… so that’s something?

 

[bert]

I can.

Low expectations for team right now, a focus on development and not pressure to compete at all costs, a coach who is known for leadership skills and who cares about his players development, a great development guy in Adam Nicholas and a mental performance coach who has helped others (Joel Armia, Cayden Primeau, etc).

Gotta think there's some pressure now. This changes the complexion of the team dramatically. They have talent now, thought they had a big hole up front they just filled. Tough division but they should be in the fight with everyone else. He adds size and elite skills two things they were missing big time. Helps the forwards slot way better too.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

I am not by any means a fan of MTL, but f*ck the haters Laine is putting up 50.

He will always be one of my absolute favorite players to watch. Nothing but love for that guy. I hope he puts it together because he is without a doubt a superstar when his mind is right.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Gotta think there's some pressure now. This changes the complexion of the team dramatically. They have talent now, thought they had a big hole up front they just filled. Tough division but they should be in the fight with everyone else.

I don't think so. Habs D are still too young. They will take a beating next year but possibly in 2 years they will make a turn.

 

[SnS]

Anti-climatic return for Laine. Attached a high second (likely) to dump him.

 

[jfhabs]

Okay, the 1st part was good! But cant see the purpose with the trade, cant be the 2nd rounder well?

Oilers has taken on projects, Kane etc. but there wasnt any problem with his on ice performances. And we already had a strong leadergroup.

Laine is a floater, thats not good for the others. Dont blame Laine for all of that.

He and Pulju destroyed back in the juniors finnish coaches had let them cheating on defense, because they produced so much. Same in some junior leauges in Canada. In todays .Nhl you cant have 1 way players. Its not the Kent Nilsson era.

Gl anyway!

Of course he's not a perfect player otherwise we couldn't have him for free... He has a top 10 shot in the league and he's huge. Of he can be serious about hockey it will be a great move. If not it's not the end of the world because the next 2 years aren't/weren't our optimal window.

 

[Lunatik]

Wait Habs got a 2nd?

They're eating 2 years of a guy who has requested a trade from every team he's ever played for, just returned from player assistance , has an 8.7m cap hit and a salary that's even higher. Laine is a HUGE question mark with a massive contract.

Not sure why anyone thought Laine would get a return.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Going in the player assistance program definitely hurts player’s value. It shouldn’t but it does. Hopefully this doesn’t discourage players from entering the program.