Patrik Laine’s falloff is wild

[SeanMoneyHands]

He's good when he wants to put in effort. He would be a 100pt player every year if he tried every night.

 

[viceroy]

I'm so glad that contingent is no longer on our boards.

Who is?

It’s pretty crazy how often the #2 pick is significantly worse than the #1.

Wanna bet neither of 'em ends his career with a Cup win?

 

[Leafshater67]

He skates like he’s stuck in the mud. I think that knee injury is still bothering him and he may never fully recover.

He needs a play driving, playmaking centre to carry play for him. He could be an elite PP guy though and still score 30-40 in the right situation if not for his health.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I swear when you watch his WJC highlights, he skated faster and played with more pace than he ever has in the NHL.

But yeah, saw him in an amusement park in like 3 weeks before training camp before the 19-20 season, and let's just say he did not look like a professional athlete getting ready to play hockey. Wasn't surprised when his season went the way it did.

Ever since then it's been a roller coaster. He got into a better shape but stopped scoring goals on the PP, then the trade, injuries and drama.

Next season will be very telling where things go. Healthy summer, contract year, play with team from camp. If he doesn't have his best season in years then he'll forever be a PP specialist.

 

[Maitz]

I don't understand how people are surprised about his game. CBJ traded a 2nd with him to take his contract. Laine always have been a dangerous offensive player but lack efforts and is not engaged defensively, I remember being excited about his goals streak but knew he would comeback to earth eventually. He is a cap dump with a shot that's it.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I don’t think those were Jets fans. Those posters are now over on the Habs boards complaining that he deserves better line mates and more ice time.

Let the record show that Jets fans are all knowledgeable, respected, good looking, pillars of the HF community.

You're correct, it mostly wasn't Jets fans, it was HF Finland.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Nobody homers like HF Finland.

 

[Jared Dunn]

He's slow, like truly unimaginably at times, and seemingly lazy but is probably a top 3-5 powerplay weapon in the league. I'm still more than fine with the trade, he brings excitement and hopefully he plays with Demidov next year and has his value pumped

 

[Breakers]

One of the worst 5v5 players in the league

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

The Jets were smart to trade his lazy ass when they did.

 

[Breakers]

the hype from that gold winning World Junior squad needs to be studied


Absolutely insane hype

 

[SteelCityCannon]

Who is?

Laine's roving band of inexplicable worshippers.

 

[Mobiandi]

Not exactly sure what he was supposed to do in Columbus and Montreal. These are two bottom-of-the-barrel teams

 

[UED]

Honestly you could tell there was something wrong with him when he sniped it into his own net as a rookie. Mistakes happen but not that one

 

[Dutronc]

He is this generation Alex Kovalev.

Not the same type player. But the same aura. Lazy prima dona type of player.

All the tools. No desire.

 

[93LEAFS]

the hype from that gold winning World Junior squad needs to be studied


Absolutely insane hype

sort of funny though, the highly thought of draft year Finnish kids were all disappointments to outright busts. But, some of the already drafted kids exceeded expectations in Rantanen (who had what was viewed as a disappointing tournament) and Aho (played unreal).

But, it's why people should never go too crazy over a short tournament mid-season when it comes to projections. Some of the Canadians who disappointed that tournament have turned into legitimate stars and contributed at 4 Nations (Marner and Point). USA had 4 guys who were in important roles for 4 nations (Matthews, McAvoy, M. Tkachuk and Werenski).

 

[S1N4TR4]

I swear when you watch his WJC highlights, he skated faster and played with more pace than he ever has in the NHL.

But yeah, saw him in an amusement park in like 3 weeks before training camp before the 19-20 season, and let's just say he did not look like a professional athlete getting ready to play hockey. Wasn't surprised when his season went the way it did.

Ever since then it's been a roller coaster. He got into a better shape but stopped scoring goals on the PP, then the trade, injuries and drama.

Next season will be very telling where things go. Healthy summer, contract year, play with team from camp. If he doesn't have his best season in years then he'll forever be a PP specialist.

that first sentence…. I mean, he was also 8 years younger and 4 knee surgeries ago.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Habs are way better with Laine in the laineup

 

[pekka55]

Not exactly sure what he was supposed to do in Columbus and Montreal. These are two bottom-of-the-barrel teams

He could give a shit, that's what he could do. People will forgive almost anything if someone clearly gives 100% effort and tries his best.

No one likes an arrogant crybaby that throws everyone else under the bus while acting like he's the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[Shark Finn]

But the six game winning streak?

 

[Acallabeth]

My personal take is that he was never the same after the Mccabe hit. His rookie season was magical. He would walk through defenders, score from distance, and handle the puck with confidence. It pretty much ended with that hit.

That's a great point, people frequently dismiss certain players as lazy and not trying while not paying attention to their injuries (that could potentially limit their expolsiveness, mobility, drive to play aggressively and so on).

And let's be reality, being a 6'5, somewhat alien looking NHL player doesn't necessarily mean Laine being mentally robust and tough. Do we look for those attributes in pro athletes? Absolutely, but that's why many goal scorers are so streaky: when their confidence is sky high, they look like they have an unstoppable God mode; but when their confidence hits an all-time low, they are next to useless.

Whatever. In several years, we will divide Laine's entire career in two parts. Before Demidov and Demidov Era.

 

[The Panther]

That contact is nasty. Montreal doesn't pay all of it, do they? (If they do, what were they thinking?)

I've nothing against Laine, who clearly is a talented and potentially impactful player, but is it fair to say he's a bit like today's NBA stars -- i.e., entitled, and plays hard only when he feels like it?

 

[LaineBOOM]

I think it's a combination of things but one thing ive noticed is that he's a lot more frail than he was before. Laine has next to no muscle mass in a lot of his pictures, he really seems like a guy who was worn out and didn't do any strength work for 2 years. Considering the circumstances, I'm not surprised, but Laine looks very, very sickly.

I took this pic of Patty during the offseason, we started to bulk up together after we realized he had gone down to like 150 pounds.

RIP btw no disrespect

 

[LaineBOOM]

But the six game winning streak?

He is currently in a 4 game winning streak btw.

 

[John Mandalorian]

sort of funny though, the highly thought of draft year Finnish kids were all disappointments to outright busts. But, some of the already drafted kids exceeded expectations in Rantanen (who had what was viewed as a disappointing tournament) and Aho (played unreal).

But, it's why people should never go too crazy over a short tournament mid-season when it comes to projections. Some of the Canadians who disappointed that tournament have turned into legitimate stars and contributed at 4 Nations (Marner and Point). USA had 4 guys who were in important roles for 4 nations (Matthews, McAvoy, M. Tkachuk and Werenski).

You’re dismissing the importance of a short in-season tournament because it’s a short in-season tournament (world juniors) but then you use another short in-season tournament (4 nations) as validation. Daft.

 

[majormajor]

Not exactly sure what he was supposed to do in Columbus and Montreal. These are two bottom-of-the-barrel teams

In Columbus he was supposed to go to sleep at night (instead of his admitted video games until 3AM) and show up to the game with a fully functioning brain. So that he wouldn't turn the puck over constantly. The guy takes shit care of himself.

He insisted on being a leader and a primary puck carrier and just did his own thing out there. The team concept really suffered badly with him around. It's not a surprise at all that the team concept has been dramatically better this year and that the team is much better without Laine.