I don't understand why people want us to give him first line minutes. But that's just me , he is a mess at 5 on 5 and plays at a snails pace , are people really questioning why marty doesn't give him much 5 on 5 ice time lol it seems pretty obvious when you watch him , especially in a tie game or up 1.
Is the goal to win games or get Laine more points haha
As I said, he will look like his line does, he adjusts to their pace.
He can play with faster players, like Rantanen does. They have the IQ to compliment the faster linemates.
Laine at his best is F3 into the zone, the first 2 fwds enter zone and push defense back, it opens room for Laine to get shots.
Laine taking shots=habs win more likely
I've seen every iteration of it, he's played with 1st line, 2nd and 3rd line talents and ice time. The best use of him is to support that shot, have enough talent in the line to push defense down and enable his shooting.
Worst use of him is giving him lesser talent and less ice time to work with.
All this "liability " talk too, he wasn't out there bleeding goals last game, Newhook line took the first two goals against. When Laine was in Newhook line, he got minuses. When he's out of it, he doesn't.
Also always need to look at 5 on 5 stats rather than +/-, as Laine is always on the ice when our goalie is pulled and never out there when opponents goalie is pulled. That skews the +/-