Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

[LaineBOOM]

Never seen Laine be this bad before. He was a total passenger out there. He seems uninterested and out of it. To me he also looks like an outsider on the bench. Very low confidence, looks like he feels very uncomfortable.

We can only guess the reasons for this but shit Im scared for him and his career.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Never seen Laine be this bad before. He was a total passenger out there. He seems uninterested and out of it. To me he also looks like an outsider on the bench. Very low confidence, looks like he feels very uncomfortable.

We can only guess the reasons for this but shit Im scared for him and his career.

Yeah I feel like he's thinking outside of hockey. He looks like Dustin Byfuglien , about to drop hockey for something else.

 

[ReHabs]

It’s funny and typical to make Laine, the guy with the most excuses and mitigating circumstances, the whipping boy just because you didn’t expect the Habs to acquire him.

Better get the fanbase to curdle on Laine, completely ignore his injury and stamina issues, and ensure this high-reward scenario doesn’t work out. God forbid the Habs have actual talent on the team for once.

 

[Fuonki]

Never seen Laine be this bad before. He was a total passenger out there. He seems uninterested and out of it. To me he also looks like an outsider on the bench. Very low confidence, looks like he feels very uncomfortable.

We can only guess the reasons for this but shit Im scared for him and his career.

It's the same old Laine that was there in Columbus and in the last days of his Winnipeg career. It's really unfortunate and even understandable if his mind is not fully in the game right now, but we're still a hockey team that is trying to win games. At some point you really just have to come to the conclusion that maybe this is just who he is as a player, a deluxe Mike Hoffman. We're not talking about a young prospect anymore, but a guy playing his 9th professional NHL season and making top line money. If you can't give your best effort every night you don't deserve to go out there instead of a guy like Beck who gives his all on the ice each shift.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

It’s funny and typical to make Laine, the guy with the most excuses and mitigating circumstances, the whipping boy just because you didn’t expect the Habs to acquire him.

Better get the fanbase to curdle on Laine, completely ignore his injury and stamina issues, and ensure this high-reward scenario doesn’t work out. God forbid the Habs have actual talent on the team for once.

The injury is a relevant topic and can't be entirely dismissed but he has been exactly this player everywhere he has been. IMO he is a short term acquisition that should be traded next year if he doesn't show a much more consistent level of play next season. I am willing to give him a mulligan this season but the red flags seem to be plentiful.

He is a player that I did not want but I thought he was a decent gamble given the fact that he was almost out of term and has undeniable talent in a window where he can't really do much damage so the risk was quite small.

His inconsistent lack of effort an non adherence to MSL's system have made him a huge 5 vs 5 liability (nothing new for Laine) as well as a very difficult player to form chemistry with as he is too unpredictable and unstructured for his line mates to properly click with him.

Hopefully he comes back next season with some more enthusiasm and consistency as he certainly has the potential to be a huge difference maker.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

It's the same old Laine that was there in Columbus and in the last days of his Winnipeg career. It's really unfortunate and even understandable if his mind is not fully in the game right now, but we're still a hockey team that is trying to win games. At some point you really just have to come to the conclusion that maybe this is just who he is as a player, a deluxe Mike Hoffman. We're not talking about a young prospect anymore, but a guy playing his 9th professional NHL season and making top line money. If you can't give your best effort every night you don't deserve to go out there instead of a guy like Beck who gives his all on the ice each shift.

While I agree with much of what you said it should be pointed out that he won't be 27 until April, so while he is not "young" he is far from being old and still should have a few prime seasons in him if he gets his head on straight. He was a point per game player in Columbus in the two "full" seasons that he played so there is considerable upside still as everyone can acknowledge that his Columbus seasons were certainly below his talent level.

He has never been a player that I liked but there is no way to deny that he can not be better than he has ever shown at the current age of 26. Whether that is likely is a whole other conversation but we have nothing to lose by taking the time next season to find out.

 

[ReHabs]

His inconsistent lack of effort an non adherence to MSL's system have made him a huge 5 vs 5 liability (nothing new for Laine) as well as a very difficult player to form chemistry with as he is too unpredictable and unstructured for his line mates to properly click with him.

This could be said about every struggling Habs player. MSL's non-system system doesn't make underperforming players look good. Slafkovsky looks like he doesn't belong in MSL's system, nor Dach, nor Newhook, nor Anderson (though slightly better this year than previously), etc.

Our players don't really have chemistry outside of Suzuki-Caufield.

My point is Laine is pretty much the last guy who should be pilloried -- he could've been nursing his knee all this time if he had elected for surgery. This year is a mulligan in every way, so all the concern about what happens summer 2026 is excessive. We'll know about summer 2026 when the 25-26 season starts and a fit Laine dresses to play. If he's as inconsistent, etc then, we'll know the answer.