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

[ES]

A fresh start for Laine, including a new number on his jersey (as 29 is retired for Ken Dryden).

 

[Captain Mountain]

A fresh start for Laine, including a new number on his jersey (as 29 is retired for Ken Dryden).

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825921768617304258

 

[jfhabs]

Yeah I would agree with that. He's faster than he looks because he takes really long strides. His problem is general intensity/drive. Patty always struck me as a player who needs to play "pissed off" to be effective. Unfortunately that doesn't go well with weak mental fortitude.

As much as he said he's better prepared as a human being now.
We, as habs fans, are better prepared for him as well after 6 seasons of Jonathan Drouin.
2 seasons of Patty should be a piece of cake

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Guy who hasn't hit 70 games played in any of the last FIVE seasons "just needs to be healthy" and is going to score 40+.

Yeah ok, sure.

He could score 0 goals and play 5 games in the next two year and it would still be worth the gamble for us in hindsight. I know you're just a troll but why do you care so much that we are weaponizing our free cap during a rebuild lol

 

[Lazytrout]

Those are full seasons for him. We’re not talking one, two or even three years. He hasn’t played a full season in a very long time.

covid years were a thing

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

He could score 0 goals and play 5 games in the next two year and it would still be worth the gamble for us in hindsight. I know you're just a troll but why do you care so much that we are weaponizing our free cap during a rebuild lol

Yeah this isn't what most Habs fans are saying about Laine now is it.

I'm not trolling, I'm posting in response to all the Habs fans acting like this trade is some generational masterclass move and Laine is going to score 70 next year.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Yeah this isn't what most Habs fans are saying about Laine now is it.

I'm not trolling, I'm posting in response to all the Habs fans acting like this trade is some generational masterclass move and Laine is going to score 70 next year.

Yes most habs fans are saying that if he fails miserably its a total nothing burger , you are acting like there are repercussions for us to be had for making this move lol

 

[Favster]

Guy who hasn't hit 70 games played in any of the last FIVE seasons "just needs to be healthy" and is going to score 40+.

Yeah ok, sure.

We get it, you don't like the trade

 

[Jeune Poulet]

Yeah this isn't what most Habs fans are saying about Laine now is it.

I'm not trolling, I'm posting in response to all the Habs fans acting like this trade is some generational masterclass move and Laine is going to score 70 next year.

No one is saying he'll score 70 goals. Most people here seem like they would be happy to see him score 30. Which is something he has done several times.

If you're just gonna make stuff up, you should change your username to "I Hate Reality"

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

No one is saying he'll score 70 goals. Most people here seem like they would be happy to see him score 30. Which is something he has done several times.

If you're just gonna making stuff up, you should change your username to "I Hate Reality"

Something he's done 3 times - five, six, and seven years ago.

 

[pth2]

Yes most habs fans are saying that if he fails miserably its a total nothing burger , you are acting like there are repercussions for us to be had for making this move lol

Haters gonna hate.
It's a move which at worst only costs Montreal the opportunity cost of that cap space (ie, what else could they have done with it?), and has potential upside; I think it's fair to wonder about the upside, but Montreal got more than Harris' likely value already, so unless the lack of cap space becomes an issue somehow, Montreal can't lose from this move.

This doesn't mean Columbus isn't going to do well, too, moving on from a problem. Trades aren't zero sum games and both teams can benefit.

 

[Lshap]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825921768617304258

Last player to wear that number was Drouin. We finally found something both trades have in common.

Something he's done 3 times - five, six, and seven years ago.

Laine scored 26 goals in 56 games in 2021/22, and 22 goals in 55 games in 2022/23.

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

Let's put it this way.

If Laine was still in Columbus, coming off a season where he missed 64 games and is coming out of dealing with some kind of substance abuse / mental health issue - would we be seeing hundreds of posts of how elite he is and how he's poised to magically be healthy for a full season and easily score 30+ goals?

No, we wouldn't. I think we all know what the common denominator is here.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Let's put it this way.

If Laine was still in Columbus, coming off a season where he missed 64 games and is coming out of dealing with some kind of substance abuse / mental health issue - would we be seeing hundreds of posts of how elite he is and how he's poised to magically be healthy for a full season and easily score 30+ goals?

No, we wouldn't. I think we all know what the common denominator is here.

We get it , you're a professional hater , don't worry about it. I appreciate the shtick sometimes.

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

We get it , you're a professional hater , don't worry about it. I appreciate the shtick sometimes.

 

[BLONG7]

Yeah this isn't what most Habs fans are saying about Laine now is it.

I'm not trolling, I'm posting in response to all the Habs fans acting like this trade is some generational masterclass move and Laine is going to score 70 next year.

70? Where did you see that??
Most habs fans I know say if the guy stays healthy he should get 30......it was a low risk high reward kind of deal...............just deal with it.

 

[CBJx614]

Lots of possibilities can happen. But I can't stress this enough... Laine is not coming to Montreal to be on a Island by himself. There is plenty of talent for him to work with and he doesn't have to be our best player. It's a great situation for Laine and the Habs. The risks are low even if he gets injured.

Blue Jackets didn't have much talent for Laine to work with. Spin that all you want but those were factors into his spiral.

Habs fans keep acting like there's a major talent gap between the two teams. Y'all finished one spot behind us this season. The Jackets have finished among the most man games lost in the league over the last 4 years, partly because of Laine.


For the 5th time, his ability to produce isn't in question, his linemates around him weren't the issue the last 4 years.

It's his ability to stay healthy for more than 30-40 games at a time.

There's no spinning anything. This deal comes down to him playing as close to 164 games as possible over the next two seasons. If he does, he's going to produce and likely want to stay in Montreal. If he can't play in at least 50% of those, well at least y'all got a 2nd for him. It's more than we did.

This is fair. Health really is the main question mark. Other issues attached to Laine are less relevant or no longer applicable. He's recently made the right choices in his personal life and, at 26, is at the age when young men start getting their heads on straight.

I'd be thrilled if he settles in and reaches his potential. I'd be happy if he fits in as a complementary forward. In either case, Montreal should have room to sign him to a fair contract. But if he doesn't work out, he'll be gone within a season or two for a pick.

I've said it before the trade but I think Laine has the potential for a Monahan type resurgence. He's constantly been trying to come back from injuries to get back on track and it's only led to more injuries and frustration.

Now he's taken damn near a whole year off to recover mentally and physically. There's the chance his body has healed up and everything will be fine moving forward.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I don't think anybody is jealous , we are one of the few teams (maybe the only 1?) that can take his cap hit for two years without directly affecting our plans whatsoever. The whole basis of the trade is that we don't care to burn 9 million on this guy mid rebuild. No contending team was touching this as it might directly impact spending in other places which is not our case.

 

[Strat]

Actually i don't think anybody is jealous , we are one of the few teams (maybe the only 1?) that can take his cap hit for two years without directly affecting our plans whatsoever. The whole basis of the trade is that we don't care to burn 9 million on this guy mid rebuild

Oh, it's definitely jealousy. All of them would rather have him on their team than on an opponent's team.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Oh, it's definitely jealousy. All of them would rather have him on their team than on an opponent's team.

The price we paid definitely turned heads

 

[Ezpz]

Yeah this isn't what most Habs fans are saying about Laine now is it.

I'm not trolling, I'm posting in response to all the Habs fans acting like this trade is some generational masterclass move and Laine is going to score 70 next year.

He'll probably outscore (goals) every flyers forward sans maybe one.

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

He'll probably outscore (goals) every flyers forward sans maybe one.

Ok??? Is this supposed to be an accomplishment

 

[Andy]

Let's put it this way.

If Laine was still in Columbus, coming off a season where he missed 64 games and is coming out of dealing with some kind of substance abuse / mental health issue - would we be seeing hundreds of posts of how elite he is and how he's poised to magically be healthy for a full season and easily score 30+ goals?

No, we wouldn't. I think we all know what the common denominator is here.

The habs own GM said they told Laine explicitly that they dont care if he scores 20 or 40. What's important is that he's committed to the team culture and helping propel a young team forward in its development.

In 6 of 8 seasons, Laine has paced at 30 or more goals. The habs don't need him to be the star forward or carry the team. They need him to help round out scoring in the top 6. He just needs to continue to play at more or less his career averages, which he literally has done other than last season and the year he was traded to Columbus. Hell, even last year, he scored 9 goals in 18 games. So it's actually one season where he didn't score at at least a 30 goal pace.

When Laine plays and is healthy, he scores goals. That's all the habs need. If he's not healthy enough to play, there is no loss since there isn't much else to use that cap space towards, and the habs still got a potentially high second round pick to absorb his salary.

The hockey world is pretty unanimous that this is a no brainer deal for the habs. Just move on.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

Guy who hasn't hit 70 games played in any of the last FIVE seasons "just needs to be healthy" and is going to score 40+.

Yeah ok, sure.

Habs gave up superstar bottom pairing dman Jordan Harris for a roll of the dice, calm down.

 

[dgibb10]

Actually i don't think anybody is jealous , we are one of the few teams (maybe the only 1?) that can take his cap hit for two years without directly affecting our plans whatsoever. The whole basis of the trade is that we don't care to burn 9 million on this guy mid rebuild. No contending team was touching this as it might directly impact spending in other places which is not our case.

4 teams had 8.7 mill in space

Utah, Anaheim, SJS, and Calgary.

A lot of low revenue teams trying to minimize payroll, and then Utah. Utah presumably decided to pass.

Maybe if chicago passed on some free agents but I really like what they did in terms of building a legit veteran dcore to shelter Vlasic and Korchinski, and the adds of Teuvo and Bertuzzi without giving too much term.

They also made their similar move last year with the Taylor Hall trade tbh, and took on mikheyev as a dump as well.