Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

[rahad]

I'm glad we have some time with him to do a "trial" of sorts before we need to consider an extension.

He obviously has one of the best shots in the league and can lift people out of their seats generating a scoring chance on his own off the rush with his handling ability. He gives our 2nd line a serious offensive threat that makes opposing coaches really contemplate how they plan to defend our top two lines. He's fun to watch on the PP.

I'd really like to see more out of him without the puck. He has such a big reach and frame and if he can find ways to use it a bit more effectively without the puck, he'd be a complete monster out there.

If he isn't scoring, it might be fair to ask the question - "what else is he doing?". There are inconsistencies. But in the right environment, he can pot 40 - 50 goals, and very few players can do that.

I wonder how much Hughes would be contemplating for a contract extension. It will be a big decision to make.

I always saw Laine as a temporary top 6 player. I has sure we will draft in the top 5-10 in 2025 and Dach will comeback and become a 60+ players. With the way we are playing, is becoming impossible to draft in the top 5. So I can see Kent signing him next summer (2026).

We will have a good second line with Laine. I will still wait until next season finish to sign him. The main reason is Hage. I don't know if he is a top 6 or top 9 player in the NHL. If Dach can becoem a 60+ player next season.
I can see 3 possibility with the Habs in 2026-2027:

Laine-dach-demi
Hage-dach-demi
or
Laine-Hage-Demidov

 

[japhi27returns]

Out of curiosity how do you think Suzuki, CC, Guhle would react if Hughes told them they were letting Laine walk because he's asking for more money then them and Hughes said no?

Because I'm pretty sure all 3 would say F-that give the guy what he wants and get him signed.

I already stated what I thought, can’t imagine the room would happy to see a guy sign for more, then play 3/5th of the time.

Not sure why I’m getting so much push back on my position, I guess I feel like an 8-10mm player should be counted on to play full seasons barring something unforeseen. PL hasn’t played anything near a full season since 18-19.

44, 56,55,18. Those aren’t his goal totals the past 4 years, can you guess what they are?

Now, that may change, although this year the number is likely under 50. You guys may be willing to roll the dice, I wouldn’t, until there was at least 2 seasons of playing most games. Sheesh, hardly a hot take.

 

[VT]

Bringing in Gaudreau and Laine wasn't a horrible move in itself, but he had no plan for filling the C position. So you have two prominent wingers, who both prefer to play on the left side, but no one to really center them apart from Boone Jenner. He started building the team from the wrong end imo, but it was Dubois who put him in that position.

Sure, Laine at C was passable, but if you want him to be the 40+ goal scorer that he can be, you have to let him play at his comfort position, surrounded by players who can feed him. I don't think he would've made that suggestion if not for the blatantly obvious fact that Columbus lacked depth at center. He tried to fill-in for the role and worked hard in order to make it happen, but again it's just an uphill battle. He was always in a state of trying to transform his game in order to fit the team's needs because he wasn't the right guy that they needed in the first place.

Laine had 26 goals in 56 games (38 for 82, only two less than 40) in 2021/22 and 22 goals in 55 games in 2022/23 (33 for 82, only 7 less than 40)

All this with injuries, so he had to get his form back, injuries in the team, and especially the defense, when he played most with Peeke, in 2022/23 with Peeke, Gudbranson, Bernie and Gavrikov. Apart from Werenski, who got injured a lot (he played 68 games in 2021/22 and scored 11+37 in 2022/23) our offensive defensemen were Boqvist and Bean, as we couldn't get others on the market. Also, Boqvist was often injured and Bean was injured in 2022/23 with 14 games left in the season.

Anyway, he and Jenner had excellent chemistry, they were like twins. And the ideal winger was Chinakhov. And he had very good chemistry with Roslovic as well.

He played his best hockey for us. In 2022/23 he was excellent in the game without the puck, defensively. Same would be the case in 2023/24, while as a center. But he had a concussion and the situation changed radically.

You think Kekäläinen wasn't looking for centers? Yet how. But they weren't. That's why we started Johnson, Sillinger and Fantilli. Even though Johnson is playing wing now, he's an excellent center.

 

[japhi27returns]

his contract will completely depend on his body of work within our organization. If he is healthy all year next year and pots 40 (on top of potting ~30 this year) then I can’t see anything less than 8M

Well of course, that is reasonable. But this year, within OUR organization, the number of games played will be at max 54! And even if he played 82 next year, the risk of reverting to the mean would be substantial.

 

[VT]

Yes Laine has always been a terrible skater. He's really slow to get up to speed but his top speed isn't that bad. The problem with Laine is that in order to get the most out of him you need strong booking. The only thing the Canadiens have done right with Laine so far is the powerplay. But the powerplay is the most important part to get right. Laine plays better with confidence and scoring on the powerplay will boost his confidence.

But he needs better linemates and more icetime. You can't play him with 2 jobbers. Suzuki is the best center on the Canadiens so the starting point should be that he plays with Laine as he's got the best playmaking ability out of the forwards. Hutson is the best offensive defenseman so he should also always play with Laine. The two other players on that line can be tampered with to find the right mix. Maybe someone that can cover for Laine defensively so he's allowed to play to his strenghts by floating and cherry picking. And what the hell was that overtime thing? Yes Laine scored but he was on the ice with a AHL defenseman and a weak 3rd liner. If Laine played for my Leafs it would've been him with Matthews and Marner on the ice for overtime. Canadiens should've had him out there with Suzuki and Hutson.

When I tell you that he had incredibly great chemistry with Jenner as a center in CBJ will you believe me?

Laine has problems with acceleration not with skating. If he is in move, skated very well if he was health. But acceleration will never be ideal, the reason is type of his body.



.

 

[japhi27returns]

If we don't draft high this year you kind of have no choice but to bet on him for 3-4 years. This kind of players are very hard to get and no team will give you one for Mailloux or Roy or Mesar or a package of those.

A team just gave us him AND a second for Harris. That is an undeniable fact.

Man I hope no one thinks I’m cheering against the guy, but we’ve lost the plot a bit in this thread.

 

[Marioesque]

I didn't watch him a ton, but yes his skating was better, but it was never a huge part of his game. So we should see improvements in that regards, but don't expect to see a Dach level of change.

Yes he can skate better, I'm sure the knee injury and likely knee brace is slowing him down. As some have already mentioned there have been times when he's been fully healthy in his career when he's been pretty fast. I thought he looked fast in camp in his last columbus season but the injuries destroyed that season.

He wasn't too much slower than McDavid in this competition, some parts of a second

 

[Andrei79]

Gtfo

Honestly this is the only appropriate answer to one of the dumbest posts I've read this week.

Laine still being only 26 is making a potential contract extension a lot more interesting IMO. He's a good fit age wise with the rest of the core and it seems like he's getting along fine with his teammates and feeling motivated again. It's not him at his 100% best either, he's potentially going to be even better next season with a full healthy off season.

He's definitely not at 100%. He's usually a 60-70th percentile player speed wise, while he's below 50 this year. You can see he can skate once he gets going and the technique is there, but he's not in game shape yet. He'll probably take time like Dach, but once he gets going, it should be a whole lot of fun.

 

[sampollock]

Best part is everybody questions his
integrity his health his stamina his mental health and now his contract possibly if he gets extended

But when he scored everyone obviously was quite excited about the goal
Now it's Monday and let's start finding fault again

I'm not criticizing any of you all I'm saying is let's give the guy his due respect until otherwise not deserved

 

[Sorinth]

I already stated what I thought, can’t imagine the room would happy to see a guy sign for more, then play 3/5th of the time.

Not sure why I’m getting so much push back on my position, I guess I feel like an 8-10mm player should be counted on to play full seasons barring something unforeseen. PL hasn’t played anything near a full season since 18-19.

44, 56,55,18. Those aren’t his goal totals the past 4 years, can you guess what they are?

Now, that may change, although this year the number is likely under 50. You guys may be willing to roll the dice, I wouldn’t, until there was at least 2 seasons of playing most games. Sheesh, hardly a hot take.

Because players care way more about winning then they do about how much their friends and teammates make. Laine helps them win, they want to win and won't care one iota whether he makes more or less then themselves.

As for games played, go back and look at Markov's stats, 45, 7, 13 and after that he missed 2 games in the following 4 seasons.

 

[le_sean]

He didn't have offensive chances or create and score the OT winner?

Yeah he scored the winner but was brutal before. And that’s okay. If he’s a 40-50 goal scorer, I don’t really care.

 

[BullLund]

My friend lives in Winnipeg and follow the jets as we follow the canadians. He told my that Laine never was a fast skater. It's not because of injury or something else, he is slow, but he has maybe the best shot after ovechkin and Matthews. He is like 12 goals in 18 games. This is huge

He is actually fast in skating competitions, but sadly this doesn't translate so well to the NHL where quick acceleration is more important than your top speed. His first few steps I would say are slower than average. His top speed is above average, and you'll see that he can leave defenders behind him in 3v3 situations and such. It may look awkward to the eye but he's a big dude and moves faster than it may seem with those long strides.

Laine has always been "overpowered" on European ice where you have more space, borderline unstoppable. But in the NHL, with less space, and a faster pace in general, he relies on teammates that can create space. His best chemistry hasn't necessarily been with franchise centers, but guys like Stastny and Jenner, the type of players than can do the gritty work which often goes unappreciated.

 

[admiralcadillac]

He’s currently playing like a designated hitter. Will be cool to see him with a summer’s worth of conditioning.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Patrik Laine has played 18 games as a Hab.

The Habs are watchable for the first time since 2021.

Can we at least pause the contract extension talk for another couple of cycles of "He's the best player in the world" and "He's awful" first?

It's a complex situation. His shot is amazing. He's absolutely insane on the PP. But at 5 on 5 he brings very little. He's not playing well but he's also coming off a big injury that saw him coming back earlier than expected. So, is this the real guy or is he still just healing from that injury?

The goals are there, especially on the PP. But he brings little else to the table. It's an interesting situation and I'm not sure what they're going to do about it if his 5 on 5 play doesn't improve. Because 5 on 5 or not, his goal scoring rate is amazing. And if he actually could improve his regular strength play then you're looking at a real superstar type player.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

He’s currently playing like a designated hitter. Will be cool to see him with a summer’s worth of conditioning.

Designated hitter is a really good description. Just absolute money on the PP but little everywhere else.

I have to think a big part of it though is the injury. It's simply not fair to judge the guy right now.