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

[NewDef]

100% this. I still can't believe Calgary give us a first round pick to take Monahan and we traded him for another first round pick. The Monahan trade will always be Kent best move with the Habs.

And it was fun to see him play! I'm sure he had a big hand in helping develop some of the youngins. Giving a very good center to young wingers is how you can develop them. How can a winger learn to play a high pace game if he does'nt get quality pass at that pace...

That's why i'd also favor getting at least one solid AHL veteran center with the Rocket.

 

[NewDef]

Laine won't be flipped
Need him for the duration

It depends if he drags the team up or down eh? My hope is that he'll find his groove here, round out his game because he sees value in it and be extended 6 x 7.5 m or something. That's a heck of a sniper but so was CC and CC really improved in other areas of the game since MSL... now imagine that kind of improvement but with a 6'5" hot rod that's having a blast and believes in that team...

Yepeee...

Mario was able to deke on both sides easily.

Laine is shifty and smooth like Mario but he dekes always on his backhand...every single time

Anyhow I am so happy with Laine !!

I can see msl having that talk with him..

 

[NewDef]

When Demidov shows up I expect Gallagher to hand over his #11 to him.

One more reason to buyout Gally in 2025...

 

[Rapala]

I do think Suzuki is getting a PPG season this year

I said a while back 66 77 why not 88.
That was before we got Laine. so who knows.

 

[NewDef]

I said a while back 66 77 why not 88.
That was before we got Laine. so who knows.

I don't think we really get how good Suzuki is developping into. He has not played with mature elite wingers and had to develop along side CC and Slaf. Now that all 3 are hot and forged, we could be surprised.

Early Slaf vs El Slafzilla of last season end is a ginormous improvement. Have that play level from Slaf for 82 games and we're adding at minimum 10 points. CC also matured but it could also be pants on fire Laine... for 10-15 points more.

I really would not be surprised he's ppg next season

 

[themilosh]

I don't think we really get how good Suzuki is developping into. He has not played with mature elite wingers and had to develop along side CC and Slaf. Now that all 3 are hot and forged, we could be surprised.

Early Slaf vs El Slafzilla of last season end is a ginormous improvement. Have that play level from Slaf for 82 games and we're adding at minimum 10 points. CC also matured but it could also be pants on fire Laine... for 10-15 points more.

I really would not be surprised he's ppg next season

Add in Dach only played 2 friggin games.. like seriously, 2 games, 2 points.. just Dach alone has to at least give us 5 more wins? Thats 10 points in standings.
Throw in Slafzilla, what another 5 wins, thats 10 more points. The youngsters are now 1 year stronger.. throw in Laine.. whatever, we'll call it wash..

I gotta say, the Habs are sleeping giants.. i see us pulling a NJ 2 years ago, and making a run.. no i dont think we are close to a SC run, but (barring injuries) we are indeed a playoff team. Hands down, legit playoff (not even wildcard).

Who's better than the current Habs roster?
FLA- yup, more playoff grizzled. Better.
TB- nope, getting older, stale..
BOS- nope, nothing really.. good team sure, but nothing to fear.
TOR- i dont even think they are that good anymore.. Matthews is amazing, Nylander too... but Marner is a headcase, soft diva.. Tavares is slow af... knies is like (future Hage), no goaltending... Tanev? Cmon guys, this is laughable..

DET- very good team, should be knocking on playoff door finally. But we've passed them already, especially with Seider hold out.

BUF- i like their team, should be a playoff team, no reason not to be.. very, very bad leadership..

OTT- disaster.. i actually feel sorry for their fans.. while their team has the talent to be in playoffs, the organization/club is in disrepair.. every single one of the Sens players are secretly fantasizing about getting traded.

 

[Scintillating10]

Possibly Zegras was another iron in the fire but the cost was always going to be prohibitive.
McGroarty wasn't stepping into a top 6 role IMO.
I'm not sure how much of an impact he would have actually made.

I think 21st pick for Zegras. Laine was cheap to acquire but look at all the injuries? You know we can't lock him up long term. Too much risk.

 

[Marioesque]

Laine was cheap to acquire but look at all the injuries? You know we can't lock him up long term. Too much risk.

What particular risk are we talking about?

The risk of injury is standard in hockey. He has seen his unfair share of them.

But that's not a predictor of future. Maybe next time Rasmus Anderson has the opportunity to concuss Laine, he won't. Possibly because he lost money and got bad rep with NHLPA. Hopefully because he understands the whole league benefits when the best players play, and that your job isn't to injure others.

I'm not worried about Laine spontaneously combusting like some are. He draws attention and plays physical sometimes, things break.But nobody is immune to reckless opponents in hockey.

It's not like he has osteoporosis or something. He's not Glass.

I do understand the hesitation though. There's been so many injuries and they've made a very choppy career.

 

[Scintillating10]

What particular risk are we talking about?

The risk of injury is standard in hockey. He has seen his unfair share of them.

But that's not a predictor of future. Maybe next time Rasmus Anderson has the opportunity to concuss Laine, he won't. Possibly because he lost money and got bad rep with NHLPA. Hopefully because he understands the whole league benefits when the best players play, and that your job isn't to injure others.

I'm not worried about Laine spontaneously combusting like some are. He draws attention and plays physical sometimes, things break.But nobody is immune to reckless opponents in hockey.

It's not like he has osteoporosis or something. He's not Glass.

I do understand the hesitation though. There's been so many injuries and they've made a very choppy career.

Injuries yes important, look at Dach. Throw mental illness in mix also no way can risk locking him up.

 

[Guess]

Add in Dach only played 2 friggin games.. like seriously, 2 games, 2 points.. just Dach alone has to at least give us 5 more wins? Thats 10 points in standings.
Throw in Slafzilla, what another 5 wins, thats 10 more points. The youngsters are now 1 year stronger.. throw in Laine.. whatever, we'll call it wash..

I gotta say, the Habs are sleeping giants.. i see us pulling a NJ 2 years ago, and making a run.. no i dont think we are close to a SC run, but (barring injuries) we are indeed a playoff team. Hands down, legit playoff (not even wildcard).

Who's better than the current Habs roster?
FLA- yup, more playoff grizzled. Better.
TB- nope, getting older, stale..
BOS- nope, nothing really.. good team sure, but nothing to fear.
TOR- i dont even think they are that good anymore.. Matthews is amazing, Nylander too... but Marner is a headcase, soft diva.. Tavares is slow af... knies is like (future Hage), no goaltending... Tanev? Cmon guys, this is laughable..

DET- very good team, should be knocking on playoff door finally. But we've passed them already, especially with Seider hold out.

BUF- i like their team, should be a playoff team, no reason not to be.. very, very bad leadership..

OTT- disaster.. i actually feel sorry for their fans.. while their team has the talent to be in playoffs, the organization/club is in disrepair.. every single one of the Sens players are secretly fantasizing about getting traded.

TB, TOR, BOS still no doubt better than us. Tampa still has a bunch of depth, we have plugs in our bottom 6 and mostly young unproven D. Toronto also better depth and more proven talent. Boston hasn't gotten much worse than before, they're still above us for sure.

Even with no injuries I would bet you that we're not a surefire playoff team, unless EVERYONE overperforms from last season.

 

[SOLR]

What particular risk are we talking about?

The risk of injury is standard in hockey. He has seen his unfair share of them.

But that's not a predictor of future. Maybe next time Rasmus Anderson has the opportunity to concuss Laine, he won't. Possibly because he lost money and got bad rep with NHLPA. Hopefully because he understands the whole league benefits when the best players play, and that your job isn't to injure others.

I'm not worried about Laine spontaneously combusting like some are. He draws attention and plays physical sometimes, things break.But nobody is immune to reckless opponents in hockey.

It's not like he has osteoporosis or something. He's not Glass.

I do understand the hesitation though. There's been so many injuries and they've made a very choppy career.

Lower hockey IQ can lead to more injuries. Some of these players have an average IQ and big physiques, so we should expect them to make collision mistakes (Dach, Slaf, Laine).

 

[morhilane]

I don't think we really get how good Suzuki is developping into. He has not played with mature elite wingers and had to develop along side CC and Slaf. Now that all 3 are hot and forged, we could be surprised.

Early Slaf vs El Slafzilla of last season end is a ginormous improvement. Have that play level from Slaf for 82 games and we're adding at minimum 10 points. CC also matured but it could also be pants on fire Laine... for 10-15 points more.

I really would not be surprised he's ppg next season

A lot more than 10 points. He would have had more than that had he not played with Anderson for so long at the start of the season...

 

[Redux91]

Injuries yes important, look at Dach. Throw mental illness in mix also no way can risk locking him up.

Man
Now I'm reeeeaaally hoping we lock him up 6 more years just to upset you lol

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Injuries yes important, look at Dach. Throw mental illness in mix also no way can risk locking him up.

Some players present greater risks than others. It's part of the calculation (along with talent assessment, positional need, cap implication, compete level, age and team fit) that any prudent general manager must engage in prior to committing almost 10% of a team's cap to any player. Or at least that's what you hope your team's general manager factors into his decision making process.

 

[bsl]

A few days gone by, still sitting here in disbelief, I think Laine makes the habs a WC contender this year. I think our top 6 is above average and our PP will be top 10 next year. I just love this trade.

I’ve been thinking of pp now. It’s a bit confusing as pl and cc should both be on the right half wall. Maybe Laine takes right d. But who takes left d?

 

[WeThreeKings]

I’ve been thinking of pp now. It’s a bit confusing as pl and cc should both be on the right half wall. Maybe Laine takes right d. But who takes left d?

They probably are on opposite powerplay units. Caufield will start PP1 and Laine will probably be with Dach and Roy on PP2.

 

[26Mats]

They probably are on opposite powerplay units. Caufield will start PP1 and Laine will probably be with Dach and Roy on PP2.

I think there's room for Caufield and Laine on the same pp. One can play the bumper, and the other the one timer from the half wall, which would be really hard to defend. Suzuki can roam, including being in front of the net, the goal line, and in Gretzky's office.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I think there's room for Caufield and Laine on the same pp. One can play the bumper, and the other the one timer from the half wall, which would be really hard to defend. Suzuki can roam, including being in front of the net, the goal line, and in Gretzky's office.

It's too many right shots.. Newhook works well in the bumper especially as a left shot.

 

[bsl]

IMHO, another real bonus to this trade is that we kept Struble!

I really liked Harris and wish him all the best with the CBJ, but I was very impressed with Struble & his skill set last year!

Apparently struble is really strong. A bull. He can fight too. I like this player a lot.

 

[Rapala]

Was Caufield particularly good on PP1 last season.
Personally I didn't think so he was a target and plays broke down on his side more than anywhere else.
We have so many options there is absolutely no reason to stick with the stuff that didn't work.
Our numbers tell us it didn't work...

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Lower hockey IQ can lead to more injuries. Some of these players have an average IQ and big physiques, so we should expect them to make collision mistakes (Dach, Slaf, Laine).

They all have very good hockey sense. But they have to employ it to avoid unnecessary contact. Lindros never learned that.

 

[Redux91]

I’ve been thinking of pp now. It’s a bit confusing as pl and cc should both be on the right half wall. Maybe Laine takes right d. But who takes left d?

As we all come down from the unbelievable high lol..

This kinda sorta IS a bit of a problem
Everybody's having a hard time fitting Dach back into PP1 now,

But I think the more glaring problem, as you said, is the Laine and CC both live in that same spot of a powerplay

Seeing as how CC been here first
I think it's fair to have CC stay PP1 to start
Something like:
CC - Suzuki - Slaf - Newhook - Matheson
And like WTK said
Have Laine and Dach PP2 which seems a little weird
But with Roy and Hutson helping round out the unit :
Laine - Dach - Roy - Hutson - lucky guy

It's definitely a far cry to having Gallagher Anderson Armia on the wasted PP2's
But i like that PP2 unit as a compromise to share the wealth

Amazingly
The real problem is when Demidov comes over

 

[Rob Sense]

Injuries yes important, look at Dach. Throw mental illness in mix also no way can risk locking him up.

Then any player is too much of a risk. What nonsense. If Laine has a couple of good years and we can reach an agreement then they do it. No question.

 

[26Mats]

It's too many right shots.. Newhook works well in the bumper especially as a left shot.

Suzuki
Laine Caufield Slaf
Hutson

3 right shots, 2 left shots.

For sure I could see Laine and Caufield each on separate units. But I would like to see if they could work as a double threat for one timers from the left side. The defense would have two lanes to worry about.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Suzuki
Laine Caufield Slaf
Hutson

3 right shots, 2 left shots.

They are going to start with Matheson on PP1 as well.

It's going to be Suzuki Caufield Slaf Newhook Matheson on PP1
Dach Laine Hutson Roy plus another on PP2.

They will switch looks up throughout the year as things work and don't work, but they are going to give the guys on PP1 to end the last year the chance to stay there and play themselves off/have others play their way on.