Confirmed with Link: Patrik Laine and 2026 2nd round pick acquired from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Jordan Harris

[junyab]

I can't see the Montreal media focusing on Laine, they know he's not "the guy". I see Suzuki, Cauflield, Slaf, Dach and Laine all having a fairly equal weighting of pressure. And if 1 of them is in a slump, there's a strong likelihood that another is as well.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The main can say what they want , but we got it for free and we had room under the cap.
And even if it doesnt work he'll be gone in two years .

If it even remotely works out, we might be able to trade him for another first too. Or... he pans out well and we keep him. There's not a lot of risk here considering we were basically paid to take him.

 

[knight23]

Expecting more than 25-35 goals and 65-85 points from Laine is kind of unfair expectation imo. The main difference between Laine and Kovalev is Laine is younger and could be able to sustain such production for more than 3 years if it works.

Of course we all hope that this Finns are healthy for the rest of the season and 85 points is a lot.

 

[Frenchy]

The injury makes things less predictable. We saw what happened last year with CC's production - his goals fell off a cliff from previous percentages.

There's a reason people were gunshy about trading for him. I really hope the team lowers expectations going into this season. Better to underpromise and overdeliver than the other way around.

He could absolutely be a 30-40 goal guy. He has the talent to do it and he'll be on a top six that's talented enough to help him. That's the upside. But I worry about high expectations and a hindered performance.

IF he's giving us 25-30 goal / 50-65 pts ( i think it's realistic ) i'll be happy. i'm well aware of his flaws and i'm willing to live with them .

 

[GrandBison]

If it even remotely works out, we might be able to trade him for another first too. Or... he pans out well and we keep him. There's not a lot of risk here considering we were basically paid to take him.

This while teams who are "winning the summer" are giving stupid money to mediocre UFAs.

 

[junyab]

If it even remotely works out, we might be able to trade him for another first too. Or... he pans out well and we keep him. There's not a lot of risk here considering we were basically paid to take him.

Especially when we would have the ability to retain salary if we move him in his second year.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

I can't see the Montreal media focusing on Laine, they know he's not "the guy". I see Suzuki, Cauflield, Slaf, Dach and Laine all having a fairly equal weighting of pressure. And if 1 of them is in a slump, there's a strong likelihood that another is as well.

If they are it's really in bad faith and pure malice. People got off Drouins back after he opened up (media), hopefully same thing happens here

 

[Jaynki]

I think Laine will be at worst a good part to help the current core take the next step.

He also has the potential to be an important pieces and a candidate for an extension after his two year deals depending on how he plays and how he fits here.

Could be pivotal in opening up our competitive window.

 

[GrandBison]

If they are it's really in bad faith and pure malice. People got off Drouins back after he opened up (media), hopefully same thing happens here

It's not 90s anymore. People are accepting that getting help is not a sign of weakness. Laine will still be judged on his on-ice contribution, but that's what sports business is about...

 

[Lshap]

This while teams who are "winning the summer" are giving stupid money to mediocre UFAs.

It amazes me that fans still measure a team's progress by how many UFAs they sign. It's more fun to focus on the shiny new toys than evaluate the development of the other 95% of the roster.

 

[Andy]

I can't see the Montreal media focusing on Laine, they know he's not "the guy". I see Suzuki, Cauflield, Slaf, Dach and Laine all having a fairly equal weighting of pressure. And if 1 of them is in a slump, there's a strong likelihood that another is as well.

The media focus wherever their story sticks. If they try to get on Laine's case and no one cares, they will move on. If they get on Laine's case on it generates clicks and engagement, they will stay on his case.

 

[ReHabs]

Still buzzing. The move made too much sense — I’m happy many commentators recognized it weeks before it actually happened, we have some thoughtful people here.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Why do people keep doing the fortnite thing with Laine? Pretty sure it was confirmed that Zboril was the one who was addicted to gaming.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

It's not 90s anymore. People are accepting that getting help is not a sign of weakness. Laine will still be judged on his on-ice contribution, but that's what sports business is about...

Depends on what their focus is on, if they play the BS angle of him being our highest paid player, it'll be dishonest

 

[Koivu11]

He will wear #92.

 

[GrandBison]

Depends on what their focus is on, if they play the BS angle of him being our highest paid player, it'll be dishonest

I don't think it will be the case. What didn't helped Drouin was he signed his contract after the trade and Sergachev became a major contributer on a Stanley Cup winning team.

 

[OnTheRun]

IF he's giving us 25-30 goal / 50-65 pts ( i think it's realistic ) i'll be happy. i'm well aware of his flaws and i'm willing to live with them .

Pretty sure he will average 50~65pts prorated for the next 2 seasons. He just need to stay healthy to make it "real points" instead of prorated.

 

[dcyhabs]

IF he's giving us 25-30 goal / 50-65 pts ( i think it's realistic ) i'll be happy. i'm well aware of his flaws and i'm willing to live with them .

Depends. If he puts up points but his line is consistently outscored it’s not going to help the team. It will depend on line composition and chemistry, I’d guess. Snd health.

 

[GrandBison]

Hope it's not a cursed number!

 

[JoelWarlord]

I just love every aspect of this move. Keeping our powder dry all summer instead of throwing money at a bunch of new Joel Armias and Christian Dvoraks for the sake of making a change, solving the D waiver logjam while getting value for Harris, adding a top 6 winger to ensure Suzuki and Dach both have support, the trickle-down effect of Dvorak now having one of Roy or Newhook on his line, and the 2 year trial term before making a long term financial decision is just all great cap and asset management. I've been hoping this would happen all summer but I just didn't really believe that Laine would truly be this cheap.

Deep down I don't really believe that Laine is going to regain the early promise and become a consistent 40-50 goal guy or anyhthing, but you can't rule out the possibility and I could see Laine really clicking here after getting a big Bell Centre moment playing for a fanbase with passion again. Even if he's "just" the ppg 30-35G pace guy he was in Columbus that's still a great addition when all it cost was money.

This while teams who are "winning the summer" are giving stupid money to mediocre UFAs.

Yeah a lot of the basement teams that "progressed" this summer were basically just signing their own equivalents to Gallagher, Dvorak, Armia, and Savard. Glad we stayed out of that nonsense and went this route instead, and we can probably pluck a guy off waivers to compete with Pezzetta for the 12th forward spot if none of our prospects earn that spot.

 

[YukonCornelius 5thOA]

Hope it's not a cursed number!

No such thing.

 

[the]

Drou-Drou's former number.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

First time in 20 years our top 6 is filled with players that don't make the entire rest of the league laugh.

 

[Nedved]

It's a great depth piece if the team stays healthy. I'm happy he gets another chance and it's with the habs. I don't think expectations are high and this seems like almost his "last chance" in the nhl. We will see how bad Laine wants it.

My biggest concern is he's plays very, very well and we end up just outside the wildcard spot instead of bottom 10. I do think Hughes is the best GM i've seen in my lifetime as a habs fan. There's not much I can complain about his work and totally a gamble worth taking for us. Harris isn't a top 4 dman and we have a bunch of young guys coming up, so the risk is worth it, and maybe the 2nd turns into another first next year with a trade up or jackets suck and it's pick 35-40.

Just great all around Hughes.

 

[le_sean]

It's a great depth piece if the team stays healthy. I'm happy he gets another chance and it's with the habs. I don't think expectations are high and this seems like almost his "last chance" in the nhl. We will see how bad Laine wants it.

My biggest concern is he's plays very, very well and we end up just outside the wildcard spot instead of bottom 10. I do think Hughes is the best GM i've seen in my lifetime as a habs fan. There's not much I can complain about his work and totally a gamble worth taking for us. Harris isn't a top 4 dman and we have a bunch of young guys coming up, so the risk is worth it, and maybe the 2nd turns into another first next year with a trade up or jackets suck and it's pick 35-40.

Just great all around Hughes.

I doubt it’s his last chance. He’s always produced when he plays, the issue is he hasn’t been playing much.

I also think after landing Demidov, that the Habs brass feel there isn’t a massive need for another Top 10 pick in order to be competitive. It’ll be an interesting window of opportunity to have a semi-competitive team and being able to add talents like Demidov, Reinbacher, Mailloux on ELCs in 2025-26. They have the picks and prospects to make a trade for another good veteran defenceman that summer as well.