Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

[Vachon23]

Risky to let go a talent like that but I understand the risks to a 8 year term as well. What are you scared of? He doesn't put up 30-40 goals and 60-80 pts? From age 28-35? $8M with a $100M cap is like $6M with the old cap.

Ideally, it's 5 or 6 years. 8 year talk is a bit of a reach but if he is after that, someone on the UFA market will give it to him. I doubt it gets to this because I think Laine wants to stay

I’m not going with that much term for a player that can’t stay healthy and that for now haven’t prove that he can be impactful at 5 on 5. 3 years max for me

 

[Habs Halifax]

Okay. Go find the posts. I’ll wait.

It’s not weird if you have to pay a premium to get him. I mean we could go get JT Miller right now but we won’t. Why? Because it would cost too much to get him.

Not wasting my time looking. I remember it well. You can go look. You don't have to believe me but I am not making up this narrative. There was a big focus with some fans as Laine in Montreal as a very very bad idea.

Well, with Miller... that is a contract to age 37 which is not ideal and we don't want cancer in our room. Nobody really knows the real issues and if Miller can get along with other players on another team. Miller risks at age 31+ are not the same as Laine concerns at age 26+

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Not wasting my time looking. I remember it well. You can go look.

Sorry no. This didn’t happen.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Sorry no. This didn’t happen.

It definitely did not happen. People (myself included) has reservations whether this was the right market for him, so if we had to pay to get him, it was too much risk.

Getting paid to take him was a no brainer and you won't find a single person who was upset with that move or even fretted it at all.

Definitely premature on extension talks, he needs to get healthy because right now his game looks about as bad as Dach's looked coming back off his lay-off (so expected) with only his high end shot on the PP making him a valuable player out there.

 

[Deebs]

He can play out the rest of the year, get a full offseason of training in and we'll see how things go next year. If for some reason his team comes to us and says he wants an extension hammered out in the summer, I think we have to stand firm and be in wait and see mode. If that ruffles feathers and creates tension, then you move him.

Lots of moving parts but there's time to figure it all out.

 

[sampollock]

I let him walk

ya ok

 

[Scriptor]

I’m not going with that much term for a player that can’t stay healthy and that for now haven’t prove that he can be impactful at 5 on 5. 3 years max for me

Your 3 years is actually 4 with next year's contrat year. Year 4, IMO, with Demidov having played his ELC and inked to a new, long term contract, Hutson and Reinbacher rounding into peak shape, Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky either entering their prime or nearing it, plus Laine playing in his contract year, we get one good crack at going far into the playoffs with Dobes and Fowler in net.

After that, Laine will be 31 to start his next contract. If he stayed healthy and produced throughout the 3-year contract, he should be able to sign a 6-year deal at good, but reasonable money, or a 4-year deal at top dollar somewhere, but maybe not in Montreal.

 

[Vachon23]

Your 3 years is actually 4 with next year's contrat year. Year 4, IMO, with Demidov having played his ELC and inked to a new, long term contract, Hutson and Reinbacher rounding into peak shape, Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky either entering their prime or nearing it, plus Laine playing in his contract year, we get one good crack at going far into the playoffs with Dobes and Fowler in net.

After that, Laine will be 31 to start his next contract. If he stayed healthy and produced throughout the 3-year contract, he should be able to sign a 6-year deal at good, but reasonable money, or a 4-year deal at top dollar somewhere, but maybe not in Montreal.

Yes that’s an other reason why I don’t want to go long terme, all those guys are more important to sign long terme and we can’t sign every one on massive deals

 

[Ozmodiar]

When the trade happened, the Habs had the cap space and the time to evaluate his play after his return to play. Unfortunately, the injury reset the whole evaluation process.
… and they also have to consider the risk of re-injury. He’s had 4 surgeries on that knee.

Too unreliable to be a highly paid core piece. I see a secondary scoring, PP1 guy who can move to 3rd line when Hage or another prospect steps in. This assumes an improved, but not dominant, 2nd season with Habs.

 

[the]

Some of the takes here are just wild. 4 games goaless streak and the naysayers are out in full force.

 

[LaineBOOM]

… and they also have to consider the risk of re-injury. He’s had 4 surgeries on that knee.

His biggest knee injury so far happened when he was I think 15. He missed almost a full season and literally had to learn how to skate again well enough to even get some use of his skills.

Ive only heard stories and mentions of it but it was really brutal afaik. And to happen at that age when you are still growing in height and getting used to the motorics.. just horrid. I dont know if its the same knee again and again, but it must affect his mobility and skating at least somewhat each time.

 

[LaineBOOM]

Ok this pic/post describes some of it

 

[covfefe]

Some of the takes here are just wild. 4 games goaless streak and the naysayers are out in full force.

It's been so long since we've had a bonafide pure goal scorer that, for most fans, watching Laine is like running into Bigfoot.

His biggest knee injury so far happened when he was I think 15. He missed almost a full season and literally had to learn how to skate again well enough to even get some use of his skills.

Ive only heard stories and mentions of it but it was really brutal afaik. And to happen at that age when you are still growing in height and getting used to the motorics.. just horrid. I dont know if its the same knee again and again, but it must affect his mobility and skating at least somewhat each time.

It's the same knee, he mentioned that in his recent interview.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

100% disagree with your "nobody said he was going to fail" narrative. Sorry

Saying no to a talent like this is weird and I repeat, I think it was the Drouin flu

Many said he was going to fail and labelled him a headcase for struggling mentally after losing his father.

Sorry no. This didn’t happen.

It definitely happened.

 

[sampollock]

When the trade happened, the Habs had the cap space and the time to evaluate his play after his return to play. Unfortunately, the injury reset the whole evaluation process.
… and they also have to consider the risk of re-injury. He’s had 4 surgeries on that knee.

Too unreliable to be a highly paid core piece. I see a secondary scoring, PP1 guy who can move to 3rd line when Hage or another prospect steps in. This assumes an improved, but not dominant, 2nd season with Habs.

sadly
no one should condemn a person over metal health
not saying you are

but in general

 

[DAChampion]

I think it's fair to wait until middle of next year to sign Laine. If he keeps playing more or less like he's been playing, 5 years at 8 million is fair.

 

[ReHabs]

A large part of our fan base are herd followers and because they are in a popular herd, they think their party is the best one out there. Impossible that a herd of people can be wrong.

I remember the comments made towards Laine. "Montreal is the last place Laine should be" That was said by a lot of posters. I fought that pretty hard and I will admit, the cost to acquire was much less than I expected. Cap problems for contenders was the biggest reason.

I remember this well because I was arguing against it too. It didn't make sense then and it doesn't make sense now. We move on.

 

[Habs7631]

Laine is a stop gap at age 26? Yeah, I don't think so. Why do you think so? Because you want to get rid of everyone older than Suzuki and pencil in prospects?

Hage looks good. He's 2 years away from NHL (one more NCAA and one AHL probably)

Roy needs to improve a lot before he can show ability to replace someone like Laine

Mesar? Yeah, I very much doubt he will be a top 6 talent at this stage.

Yes I think he’s a stopgap, not because of his age but because of his history of missing extended period of time, and even when he plays he’s a one trick pony. I think committing big years+money to a guy like him would be a mistake.

And like I said, his salary structure is just tailor made to fit in a trade for a bigger fish.

This team could become expensive real quick. Suzuki, Caufield, Slaf, Demidov, Hutson, Guhle, Reinbacher, Hage, Beck, potentially Evans, our 2 1st this year in the future, Dobes/Fowler? Maybe a player currently not in the lineup that we’ll trade for.

Laine is not a core piece IMO. Giving significant money+term to a non-core piece is not the way to go forward.

Like a said, I do 3/4 years to give Demidov and Dach someone to play with while one of your youngsters gets ready or we trade for another long term solution.

Either way we’ll see soon enough what they do with him.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I'm not sold on Laine. He's a one way player, his play in defensive zone is bad, He have one good skill and that's his shooting But the rest of his game is bad. And he is injury prone. I wouldn't want our gm to give him a lucrative contract. I would like to not sign him. Habs have to keep their $$ for a more complete player.

 

[bud12]

If it's the real Laine and not the "rusty" Laine that we see, I don't want to see him again after his contract expire. The guy is a nuisance at 5v5 and even next year, I would rather see Caufield take his spot on the pp so we could bring Demidov on the 1st wave. The guy have a good shoot, but that's about it

 

[Frank Drebin]

Your 3 years is actually 4 with next year's contrat year. Year 4, IMO, with Demidov having played his ELC and inked to a new, long term contract, Hutson and Reinbacher rounding into peak shape, Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky either entering their prime or nearing it, plus Laine playing in his contract year, we get one good crack at going far into the playoffs with Dobes and Fowler in net.

After that, Laine will be 31 to start his next contract. If he stayed healthy and produced throughout the 3-year contract, he should be able to sign a 6-year deal at good, but reasonable money, or a 4-year deal at top dollar somewhere, but maybe not in Montreal.

players don't sign 3 year deals when they are 28 and 6 year deals when they're 31

 

[Paddyjack]

Some of the takes here are just wild. 4 games goaless streak and the naysayers are out in full force.

Well, personnally I like his great shot on the PP but other than that I find him very ordinary 5vs5. However I also attribute this lack of success to injury recovery time. A bit like Dach in the first 20 games, I often feel like Laine is not comfortable on the ice when skating with the puck. So I'm ready to give him some time.

 

[Marioesque]

He's still playing with Newhook and Dach. I don't know what we're expecting?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It definitely happened.

Cool. Show us the posts.

The reality is that Columbus needed to dump him and we didn't need to take him. Speaking for myself, I wanted us to just stick with the kids and use it as an evaluation year. I did not want us to pay anything to get this guy. But taking him for free? Sure. Shortly before the deal I said we should do something like Harris and get back a 2nd to take him. That's exactly what happened.

I can't remember a single poster who thought this was a bad deal.

 

[sampollock]

I'm not sold on Laine. He's a one way player, his play in defensive zone is bad, He have one good skill and that's his shooting But the rest of his game is bad. And he is injury prone. I wouldn't want our gm to give him a lucrative contract. I would like to not sign him. Habs have to keep their $$ for a more complete player.

he is a goal scorer.
but hey habs have plenty of those