Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

[CAUFIELD]

Well probably get a 2C next summer . Laine will also play with Demidov or Slaf. He will also be healthier.

I’m not impressed with him, but I’m ready to give him another year . Next year team will be the most talented I can remember.

 

[Andrei79]

I don't like how he pouts, hated how he missed a sure goal by gliding and he's put his foot in his mouth with the media more than once. I'll add that his former CLB teammates seemed to like him enough to legitimately want to hurt him, to the point he had to be taken out of the game. Not sure I've seen that often before and that seemed to make sense with the rumors of his teammates all wanting him gone. He still has those headcase moments.

I'd still give him a mulligan for the year. He was supposed to be out of commission this year and was the catalyst of a huge run. He's Uber talented and isn't relied upon to lead the team. He can open games with a single play and that's valuable in itself.

 

[VT]

I don't like how he pouts, hated how he missed a sure goal by gliding and he's put his foot in his mouth with the media more than once. I'll add that his former CLB teammates seemed to like him enough to legitimately want to hurt him, to the point he had to be taken out of the game. Not sure I've seen that often before and that seemed to make sense with the rumors of his teammates all wanting him gone. He still has those headcase moments.

I'd still give him a mulligan for the year. He was supposed to be out of commission this year and was the catalyst of a huge run. He's Uber talented and isn't relied upon to lead the team. He can open games with a single play and that's valuable in itself.

He didn't any problems in CBJ but than said why he wanted to be traded.

 

[LaineBOOM]

Laine will be an absolute monster next season. Reasons:
1. He will be healthy both physically and mentally to start the season for the first time since forever.
2. Its his contract season.
3. He wants to show and prove that he is THAT guy, i.e. the guy who wins games, scores at Rocket-pace.
4. He will have the most talented linemate that he has ever had.
5. He has gotten married during summer of 2025 and Im pretty sure they will be expecting a baby as well.

Yea the lack of real 2C is an issue but if (and when) it can be resolved then holy shit its gonna be an epic season for Patty and for the whole team.

 

[Lshap]

Laine will be an absolute monster next season. Reasons:
1. He will be healthy both physically and mentally to start the season for the first time since forever.
2. Its his contract season.
3. He wants to show and prove that he is THAT guy, i.e. the guy who wins games, scores at Rocket-pace.
4. He will have the most talented linemate that he has ever had.
5. He has gotten married during summer of 2025 and Im pretty sure they will be expecting a baby as well.

Yea the lack of real 2C is an issue but if (and when) it can be resolved then holy shit its gonna be an epic season for Patty and for the whole team.

I hope you're right, but my guess is what we see is what we get. Laine brings a super-power that few players have – a deadly accurate laser beam of a shot. However, behind that shot is a tsunami of inner conflict that throws him off his game pretty easily. He can be a game-changer; he can also be a ghost, depending on the mood-de-jour.

If Laine's healthy, I'm expecting to see more of the above... just more often. And I'm fine with that, because assuming the team is on the rise, the positive vibes should bring out the good-Laine and (hopefully) keep the bad-Laine at bay.

Everything else aside, Laine's like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree – it looks like crap until you give it a little love.

 

[Canadienna]

We got paid to take him. In no way is this a disaster. Yeah, he's been underwhelming (flat out bad mostly) at 5 on 5. But his play with the man advantage has been best in league.

I was really worried about the shoulder but there's absolutely nothing wrong there. Getting hurt preseason sucked. Let's see how he does next year.

Even just as a PP specialist though, I'm fine keeping him if it's at a reasonable number.

I didn't articulate what I meant well enough.

Disaster is the wrong word, because I'm only speaking to the "Laine experiment" not the overall team impact etc.

As you say, we got paid to take him and expectations weren't sky high - but the idea of rehabilitating Laine into an impact player and finding a home here in MTL, was I think popular among the fanbase.

So what are the things that would lead to that? I'm thinking 1) staying healthy 2) staying mentally in a good place and 3) Getting some on ice results.

1) He's currently out with his second illness and has missed nearly half the games to this point. No one is assigning blame here, but that's not a check mark.

2) Not one player under St Louis has complained about his ice time to the media other than Laine. His play on the ice isn't anywhere close to his own standards, which you can tell affects him based on him speaking on his mental health issues in the past. More and more fans on social media are calling him out, and he likely sees all of it. Plus the recent spat with Slaf in practice. No check mark there.

3) Before the season he says to the media "I don't want to come back as a 30 goal scorer, I want to come back as a 40-50 goal scorer". That's what he wanted. He's currently playing 4th line minutes and producing in streaks to a decent amount (6 points in 6 games - also 6 points in 12 games...). Even ignoring injuries, his point per game pace would still be one of his career worst. To me, no check mark.

So none of the things that would point to us actually rehabilitating this star forward are trending in the right direction. If it all goes wrong, it's not a disaster as you say, but the effort to bring him back might be trending towards it.

 

[26Mats]

Laine will be an absolute monster next season. Reasons:
1. He will be healthy both physically and mentally to start the season for the first time since forever.
2. Its his contract season.
3. He wants to show and prove that he is THAT guy, i.e. the guy who wins games, scores at Rocket-pace.
4. He will have the most talented linemate that he has ever had.
5. He has gotten married during summer of 2025 and Im pretty sure they will be expecting a baby as well.

Yea the lack of real 2C is an issue but if (and when) it can be resolved then holy shit its gonna be an epic season for Patty and for the whole team.

I'm thinking, even if we're not able to get that 2c we want, maybe Dach will be good enough if Demidov is also on the line. Demidov could be a dynamic playmaker from the get go. Great players are often great right from their rookie year. And Demidov will have had a good year as a pro in the KHL already under his belt.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I didn't articulate what I meant well enough.

Disaster is the wrong word, because I'm only speaking to the "Laine experiment" not the overall team impact etc.

As you say, we got paid to take him and expectations weren't sky high - but the idea of rehabilitating Laine into an impact player and finding a home here in MTL, was I think popular among the fanbase.

So what are the things that would lead to that? I'm thinking 1) staying healthy 2) staying mentally in a good place and 3) Getting some on ice results.

1) He's currently out with his second illness and has missed nearly half the games to this point. No one is assigning blame here, but that's not a check mark.

2) Not one player under St Louis has complained about his ice time to the media other than Laine. His play on the ice isn't anywhere close to his own standards, which you can tell affects him based on him speaking on his mental health issues in the past. More and more fans on social media are calling him out, and he likely sees all of it. Plus the recent spat with Slaf in practice. No check mark there.

3) Before the season he says to the media "I don't want to come back as a 30 goal scorer, I want to come back as a 40-50 goal scorer". That's what he wanted. He's currently playing 4th line minutes and producing in streaks to a decent amount (6 points in 6 games - also 6 points in 12 games...). Even ignoring injuries, his point per game pace would still be one of his career worst. To me, no check mark.

So none of the things that would point to us actually rehabilitating this star forward are trending in the right direction. If it all goes wrong, it's not a disaster as you say, but the effort to bring him back might be trending towards it.

I don’t see superstar. I do see incredible talent that’s good enough to help us on the PP. The man can score.

This is a case where we wait and see what he can do when fully healthy. I agree there are some issues and uncertainty. But there’s also some good upside. At minimum he’s a 2nd liner who’s an ace PP specialist. Just manage expectations properly. I mean he might really click with Demidov for example and if that happens we’re in great shape.

 

[the]

Such a winnable game if Laine was here. It's pathetic how we got 0 secondary scoring when he's not playing.

 

[TomKosto]

Demidov will fix that

 

[HuGort]

Laine reminds me of Drouin. Mentally and physically very fragile

 

[LaineBOOM]

I'm thinking, even if we're not able to get that 2c we want, maybe Dach will be good enough if Demidov is also on the line. Demidov could be a dynamic playmaker from the get go. Great players are often great right from their rookie year. And Demidov will have had a good year as a pro in the KHL already under his belt.

Honestly I would bet on Kapanen as 2C to start the season if we somehow cant acquire a "real" 2C. Kapanen has had a solid season in SHL, is already 21 years old, he can already start to deliver on NHL level.

Beck could be an option as well but imo he doesnt have enough offensive upside. Evans could be an option as 2C as well but he lacks the offensive IQ imo.

 

[26Mats]

Honestly I would bet on Kapanen as 2C to start the season if we somehow cant acquire a "real" 2C. Kapanen has had a solid season in SHL, is already 21 years old, he can already start to deliver on NHL level.

Beck could be an option as well but imo he doesnt have enough offensive upside. Evans could be an option as 2C as well but he lacks the offensive IQ imo.

If Demidov is really good right away, Dach, Beck, and Kapanen could all work on that line.

We'll have to wait until next season to find out...

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Honestly I would bet on Kapanen as 2C to start the season if we somehow cant acquire a "real" 2C. Kapanen has had a solid season in SHL, is already 21 years old, he can already start to deliver on NHL level.

Beck could be an option as well but imo he doesnt have enough offensive upside. Evans could be an option as 2C as well but he lacks the offensive IQ imo.

This is crazy thinking. If the goal is to continue to miss the playoffs, sure, pencil Beck and Kapenen in as 2C. Beck is struggling to keep up with the play now and looks outmatched and invisible now.

We need a 2C and it isn’t Dach, Beck or Kapenen.

 

[26Mats]

This is crazy thinking. If the goal is to continue to miss the playoffs, sure, pencil Beck and Kapenen in as 2C. Beck is struggling to keep up with the play now and looks outmatched and invisible now.

We need a 2C and it isn’t Dach, Beck or Kapenen.

Getting the 2c of the future is big move, especially if it comes with a long term contract. You don't want to get it wrong.

Sure there stop gaps that would be better than Beck, each, and Kapanen. But we don't want to give up the farm for a mediocre long term solution, or even worse a big long term contract for a player that may steeply decline after the age of 32.

If we can't find a stop gap or a real long term solution, I'd rather go with Beck, each, or Kapanen. But hugo should at least be able to find a stop gap.

 

[ReHabs]

I didn't articulate what I meant well enough.

Disaster is the wrong word, because I'm only speaking to the "Laine experiment" not the overall team impact etc.

As you say, we got paid to take him and expectations weren't sky high - but the idea of rehabilitating Laine into an impact player and finding a home here in MTL, was I think popular among the fanbase.

So what are the things that would lead to that? I'm thinking 1) staying healthy 2) staying mentally in a good place and 3) Getting some on ice results.

1) He's currently out with his second illness and has missed nearly half the games to this point. No one is assigning blame here, but that's not a check mark.

2) Not one player under St Louis has complained about his ice time to the media other than Laine. His play on the ice isn't anywhere close to his own standards, which you can tell affects him based on him speaking on his mental health issues in the past. More and more fans on social media are calling him out, and he likely sees all of it. Plus the recent spat with Slaf in practice. No check mark there.

3) Before the season he says to the media "I don't want to come back as a 30 goal scorer, I want to come back as a 40-50 goal scorer". That's what he wanted. He's currently playing 4th line minutes and producing in streaks to a decent amount (6 points in 6 games - also 6 points in 12 games...). Even ignoring injuries, his point per game pace would still be one of his career worst. To me, no check mark.

So none of the things that would point to us actually rehabilitating this star forward are trending in the right direction. If it all goes wrong, it's not a disaster as you say, but the effort to bring him back might be trending towards it.

It’s Laine’s fault he got a mild illness during flu season. What a bum!

It’s Laine’s fault he was hammered by Slafkovsky in practice when he wasn’t expecting it. The bum!

It’s Laine’s fault he’s only outproducing 16 other players in the lineup. Bum!!

Laine is a mega bum, the Habs success when he’s not in the lineup attests to it!! How dare he feel pain when his teammate hurts him in practice, he has no right to feel any pain or get sick!!

 

[Monsieur Miz]

Laine reminds me of Drouin. Mentally and physically very fragile

Maybe he has a BFF in the league that he can play with.

 

[yianik]

Im not worked up about Laine in the least.

We didnt give up a huge amount of assets for him. In fact we were paid to take him as we didnt need salary retention. Taking his salary is not preventing us from making moves.

We knew we were getting a formerly elite but struggling player.

I was hopeful. But he gets injured just like that. He has no 2C to play with. Sure , the effort does not seem to be there.

No decisions need to be made. Likely we have to pay someone to take him, and why do that ?

Hopefully we have a 2C next season as well as Mr. Demidov. Hopefully Laine plays well after having the summer to work on things. If he doesnt he leaves. If he plays well and wont sign we trade him for good assets back.

So personally Im chill about Laine and Ill see what happens next season.

 

[Monsieur Miz]

I don't like how he pouts, hated how he missed a sure goal by gliding and he's put his foot in his mouth with the media more than once. I'll add that his former CLB teammates seemed to like him enough to legitimately want to hurt him, to the point he had to be taken out of the game. Not sure I've seen that often before and that seemed to make sense with the rumors of his teammates all wanting him gone. He still has those headcase moments.

I'd still give him a mulligan for the year. He was supposed to be out of commission this year and was the catalyst of a huge run. He's Uber talented and isn't relied upon to lead the team. He can open games with a single play and that's valuable in itself.

Don't think they would've gone after him if he didn't threw them under the bus and decided to shit talk them out of nowhere. They had a little video ready for him after all. Pretty sure Werenski said he liked him and that the organization/teammates helped him as much as they could.