Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

[Tyson]

Yeah, it's just where he is in his return to the game after many injuries, mental health, missed games.. This isn't the best version of Laine, but this is what he is right now and it was the right decision to split them up.

I just see posters here and Marc Dumont on Twitter trying to say that it was the linemates holding him back as if Laine was doing all these productive things and they were failing him. It was the other way around.

Laine has hit a wall but his skating and defensive awareness are very concerning. We were all fired up when he was acquired but damn he hasn't been good enough.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Laine has hit a wall but his skating and defensive awareness are very concerning. We were all fired up when he was acquired but damn he hasn't been good enough.

That shot though...

 

[Tyson]

That shot though...

Pierre Dagenais had a similar shot. Laine needs to bring more.

 

[Guess]

I don't think Laine fits the kind of style of play the Habs want to do, he's not good enough of a two way player and his skating is not great. Hopefully we can retain on him next season to get a good long term piece.

 

[Marioesque]

as if Laine was doing all these productive things and they were failing him.

Nope, Laine wasn't helping the line a lot either. No chemistry

It was the other way around.

And here we go. Again. You acknowledge that none of the line worked, then you turn around and say it was just Laine.

I don't get how you don't see how weird that is. You identify issues outside of Laine, but your conclusion always remains he is to blame for it all.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Nope, Laine wasn't helping the line a lot either. No chemistry

And here we go. Again. You acknowledge that none of the line worked, then you turn around and say it was just Laine.

I don't get how you don't see how weird that is. You identify issues outside of Laine, but your conclusion always remains he is to blame for it all.

It's not coincidence that the 2nd line improved immediately after he was removed from it.

 

[Marioesque]

It's not coincidence that the 2nd line improved immediately after he was removed from it.

It's not a coincidence Laine improved to a net neutral on 5 on 5 either.

But I mean, we're talking about winning games right? Having individual points but being a net negative isn't something I'd consider a vast improvement for the 2nd line, they were doing that before too with just less goals for. I've really liked Newhook's new look on the road trip, looks like he has conquered his demons and can be an effective forward. In my opinion optimally 3rd line energy forward.

 

[26Mats]

Laine has hit a wall but his skating and defensive awareness are very concerning. We were all fired up when he was acquired but damn he hasn't been good enough.

I like a lot of the plays he makes with the puck to create space for his linemates.

For sure he needs to cut down on the turnovers and improve his positioning in the D zone. But I've seen him do much more than just shoot.

I'm looking forward to both, hopefully, him improving his own game with more reps, but also him getting to play with linemates of his own skill level (perhaps Demidov next season). Suzuki and Caufield certainly benefit from playing with each other. Laine would benefit from having a linemate at that skill level. Suzuki and Caufield also benefit from having the right 3rd wheel (not Anderson, Newhook, etc..., but Slaf or Dach in the past).

 

[Frankenheimer]

Let's recall that it takes months to recover from the injury he had. I would be surprised if this was the best version of Laine possible. Everything points to next year being our time to be playoff contenders, or even contenders, so we'll get a chance to see what a fully fit Laine can do then and then decide on a trade/resign strategy at that point. We see his shot and vision are next level. With improved conditioning and coaching, he may become the player we want.

 

[dcyhabs]

He's just back after a serious injury, the team has injuries they don't have the depth to cope with, and everybody is playing tired. Suzuki is in one of his stretches where he should probably sit a game or two but won't until the upcoming break.

Wait until the team actually has enough depth to put people in roles they can handle and move guys to places they fit. Laine, like many others, will look better when the team is filled out. Dumping him now would be terrible asset management.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It's not a coincidence Laine improved to a net neutral on 5 on 5 either.

Net neutral? You mean +/-?

But I mean, we're talking about winning games right? Having individual points but being a net negative isn't something I'd consider a vast improvement for the 2nd line, they were doing that before too with just less goals for. I've really liked Newhook's new look on the road trip, looks like he has conquered his demons and can be an effective forward. In my opinion optimally 3rd line energy forward.

The 2nd line has been a mess for much of the year. Nobody disputes that. But Newhook and Dach have both improved a lot and it's not just the past few games. Laine has not looked good unfortunately. Again though, I think that can be at least partially attirbuted to his injury.

I expect the 2nd line will produce a lot better going forward - at least closer in line with expectations. We'll see.

 

[Marioesque]

Net neutral? You mean +/-?

Yes 5 on 5 +/-

The 2nd line has been a mess for much of the year. Nobody disputes that.

WeThreeKings was, that's why all the talk. He was saying it was all Laine's fault. I had to point out the guys were "leading" the league in minuses before Laine ever started playing with them. Also had to point out the above, they leaked 3 goals 5 on 5 last night and Laine was at 0. So yeah, somebody did dispute it, blamed it on one guy. It needed context.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Yes 5 on 5 +/-

Okay, I put very little stock in that. It’s a pretty meaningless stat. I’d be curious to see their analytics with and without.

WeThreeKings was, that's why all the talk. He was saying it was all Laine's fault. I had to point out the guys were "leading" the league in minuses before Laine ever started playing with them. Also had to point out the above, they leaked 3 goals 5 on 5 last night and Laine was at 0. So yeah, somebody did dispute it, blamed it on one guy. It needed context.

Dach leading the league in plus minus is almost exclusively from our horrible start. Again, nobody- including WTK - is going to deny that the line was bad back then but that’s in large part due to Dach’s injury.

Since around mid December though, their play has improved and I showed you the production since December 28th, it’s not bad either.

I agree with him that Laine was throwing that line out of whack. He’s where Dach was when he came back - totally out of sync. He needs time to find his game and o agree with him that the bottom six is where he should do it.

 

[HHel]

I addressed the fact that Laine is rusty from time missed already, not to mention the net new injury to his knee this year. Expecting him to be in form is not fair to him, so for him to be struggling is perfectly reasonable as it was for Dach.

This is it what everybody should keep in mind.

He is not that slow how he is right now. So it affects everything defensive coverage, transition, creating chances. Yes, it's on him, but there is no short cut to recovery. You have to build little by little.

My expectations were, that everything positive in this season is extra.

It's so sad that after every game there is group of people bashing him.

Give him time. He is good player.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I love Finnish media sometimes. One iltalehti article described Georges Laraque as an NHL legend in the title. Everything gets upgraded. Some guy who got drafted without a hope in hell of an NHL career? "Top prospect"

This was an article covering Georges' comments about Laine.

 

[elmaco]

I love Finnish media sometimes. One iltalehti article described Georges Laraque as an NHL legend in the title. Everything gets upgraded. Some guy who got drafted without a hope in hell of an NHL career? "Top prospect"

This was an article covering Georges' comments about Laine.

It's just clickbait.

 

[NotProkofievian]

It's just clickbait.

Omg rly? Wow.

 

[Habs Halifax]

This is it what everybody should keep in mind.

He is not that slow how he is right now. So it affects everything defensive coverage, transition, creating chances. Yes, it's on him, but there is no short cut to recovery. You have to build little by little.

My expectations were, that everything positive in this season is extra.

It's so sad that after every game there is group of people bashing him.

Give him time. He is good player.

Agreed. Basically we are loosing games and media/fans do what they do best... player attacks. 100,000 GM's living in the basement of their parents house lol.

Laine won't do much 5/5 with the Habs until we get the right center for him. We all know Laine's flaws but we all know his snipping ability can break open a game too. It's a nice problem to have so let MSL and Laine figure it out.

 

[elmaco]

Omg rly? Wow.

I'm half finnish i can read those, there's an obscene amount of clickbait in finnish tabloids.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Omg rly? Wow.

The moment when the cat realized the red laser was not real..

 

[CoopersFalls]

All these comments like his knee isn't still bothering him. He also missed an entire year. I would expect next season he would look a lot different.

 

[VT]

May I ask you if this source is reputable? Now I don't mean repeating the words of Georges Laraque etc, but descriptions of Laine, how MSL and the team hate him, he is persona non granta" etc.

P.S. I translated it using DeepL, so the translation of that is not absolutely perfect.

C’est la fin pour Patrik Laine

Le dossier Patrik Laine vient de prendre une tournure brutale.

hockey30.com

Martin St-Louis abandonne Patrik Laine pour de bon

C’est un désastre total. Un naufrage qui ne peut plus être stoppé.

hockey30.com

Patrik Laine perdu sur le banc: une histoire triste pour les yeux

Le match contre les Sharks aurait dû être une occasion en or pour Patrik Laine de rebondir.

hockey30.com

etc.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

May I ask you if this source is reputable? Now I don't mean repeating the words of Georges Laraque etc, but descriptions of Laine, how MSL and the team hate him, he is persona non granta" etc.

P.S. I translated it using DeepL, so the translation of that is not absolutely perfect.

C’est la fin pour Patrik Laine

Le dossier Patrik Laine vient de prendre une tournure brutale.

hockey30.com

Martin St-Louis abandonne Patrik Laine pour de bon

C’est un désastre total. Un naufrage qui ne peut plus être stoppé.

hockey30.com

Patrik Laine perdu sur le banc: une histoire triste pour les yeux

Le match contre les Sharks aurait dû être une occasion en or pour Patrik Laine de rebondir.

hockey30.com

etc.

These articles are intended for the lowest of low iQ consumers of media in the province , I'd suggest ignoring them , it's click bait , these guys make a living off writing garbage.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I'm half finnish i can read those, there's an obscene amount of clickbait in finnish tabloids.

Well I never!

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Every BPM SPANRE clip i come around is like listening to a hobo at berri Uquam talk about hockey , like regardless of the person who's talking its always awful , some mononcle at the family gathering stuff its pretty impressive that people listen to this