Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

[Kiekura]

Laine is so interesting to me. I never got to watch him play much before we got him, only the highlights (which was mainly his lethal accurate one timer).

Was he this slow prior to the last 2 years of injuries and missed time?
He still covers a lot of ice with his gigantic lanky frame and extra long stick, puck handling etc. but it seems like he is painfully slow skating, and I can’t tell if that’s something we should be worried about or if it’s always been like this. For people that have seen him frequently prior to the injuries and time off, has he a lost a step skating wise? It feels like it’s holding him back from being that star forward at 5 on 5 play.

Regardless, he’s been the the highlight of the year for me (Hutson close second, but I already knew he was going to be good for us. Didn’t think we’d ever land a star like Laine)

That has always been his problem. Barkov had same problem, but the just trained himself out of it.

Also his skating looks slower than he actually is, because he is so big and his skating style is weird. He looks awkward.

 

[VT]

Well they just had a struggle to fill the center position, they even tried to play Laine as a center. At that point you pretty much knew he was done over there.

But it was really Dubois who forced their hand, Dubois was supposed to be Columbus's future top center, but he wanted out. And Laine was about the only guy available at the time who was regarded as having similar value.

Where Columbus's GM failed is by not increasing their depth at the center position after acquiring Laine, he even brought in Gaudreau, another winger. The current GM seems to have done a much better job of actually bringing in the right guys for the right roles.

How would you explain to people that you refused to sign Gaudreau, who had expressed himself to come? Besides, it was a top marketing move for other players as well.

The funny thing is that the only top 6 player,engines came is Monahan and he would have come even if Kekäläinen was here.


Waddell have done them but the most important things. He brought in Evason (it was super lucky he was free) and started working with the players on a winning culture mentally as well. Laine was right when he said his words. But I think he said it terribly.

Laine himself asked Vincent,mci could not play center, he gave him a chance. In the 2022/23 season he offered,as the centre got injured. The trial was successful. I dare say if not for the concussion he would have been a great center, he played well for us at 5v5, defense and playing without the puck very well. He also moved his feet more that way.

 

[nippanappa]

Laine is so interesting to me. I never got to watch him play much before we got him, only the highlights (which was mainly his lethal accurate one timer).

Was he this slow prior to the last 2 years of injuries and missed time?
He still covers a lot of ice with his gigantic lanky frame and extra long stick, puck handling etc. but it seems like he is painfully slow skating, and I can’t tell if that’s something we should be worried about or if it’s always been like this. For people that have seen him frequently prior to the injuries and time off, has he a lost a step skating wise? It feels like it’s holding him back from being that star forward at 5 on 5 play.

Regardless, he’s been the the highlight of the year for me (Hutson close second, but I already knew he was going to be good for us. Didn’t think we’d ever land a star like Laine)

He's always had issues with acceleration and agility, but he's definitely slower / clunkier this year after the long break.

I was taking a look at some of his early career games from Winnipeg and from time to time, he had more "step" on his game which he seems to lack recently. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he'll ever be able to drive plays but we should be able to expect more.

His glide and deke combo however is extremely frustrating to see and something that's been there many years now. It has very little success rate and he'd be better off firing the puck every chance he gets imo.

 

[Habssince89]

Laine's skating will keep improving, he hasn't even played 20 games yet since the injury. He's slowly picking up the pace IMO

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Well.... that was silly.

Why trade for a Laine, if you're not going to let him Laine.

Why did Therrien try to turn Galchenyuk into Brandon Prust? Why did he want Subban to dump and chase?

A lot of coaches try to turn players into something they’re not.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We were so star deprived for so long that acquiring him even if we overpaid and rolled the dice made sense. He fit our rebuild timeline and we had the cap space. Laine was still a PPG player minus his last season in Columbus. I thought he was a great fit for us.

I remember reading an article during the summer before we acquired him about Barkov saying he was ready for a huge comeback. These types of players with game breaking talent more often than not figure out a way to succeed.

There’s no doubting his talent. He has an all world shot. But the mental and physical health was in question. And there was a sense we didn’t really need to add him. We have young talent coming up as well. We weren’t in a desperate situation and Columbus needed to move him. Hence the bargain price.

I’d have liked to have seen him before the injury. At 5 on 5 he looks like a guy trying to find his game right now. On the PP it’s basically cheat code goals. It’s insane how he keeps scoring from that one spot.

He’s a one trick pony at the moment but that one trick is the most valuable thing you can contribute: goals.

One other point: we absolutely have been star deprived, especially up front. But that’s no longer the case. Especially with Demidov coming this club has scoring power like it hasn’t had in decades.

 

[Archijerej]

I think the 2nd line is finally starting to look like a proper line. Before it was mostly individual bursts.

 

[waitin425]

There’s no doubting his talent. He has an all world shot. But the mental and physical health was in question. And there was a sense we didn’t really need to add him. We have young talent coming up as well. We weren’t in a desperate situation and Columbus needed to move him. Hence the bargain price.

I’d have liked to have seen him before the injury. At 5 on 5 he looks like a guy trying to find his game right now. On the PP it’s basically cheat code goals. It’s insane how he keeps scoring from that one spot.

He’s a one trick pony at the moment but that one trick is the most valuable thing you can contribute: goals.

One other point: we absolutely have been star deprived, especially up front. But that’s no longer the case. Especially with Demidov coming this club has scoring power like it hasn’t had in decades.

Laine is like a DH in baseball who hits dingers. I would never want to break the bank on him. But as long as he is scoring at this pace, he is an absolute must to have on the team. Going to be interesting this summer and into next year what kind of deal we work out with him.

 

[mattihp]

He's always had issues with acceleration and agility, but he's definitely slower / clunkier this year after the long break.

I was taking a look at some of his early career games from Winnipeg and from time to time, he had more "step" on his game which he seems to lack recently. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he'll ever be able to drive plays but we should be able to expect more.

His glide and deke combo however is extremely frustrating to see and something that's been there many years now. It has very little success rate and he'd be better off firing the puck every chance he gets imo.

He works with really good skating coaches, but needs to work with one who specialises in taller players. He skates like a short guy, except with a long stride. Will result in back injuries.