Toggle sidebar

Player Discussion Patrik Laine: Part 2 - Healthy Living Edition

May I ask what you expect from an obviously sick person? I mean health (problems with injury) of course. He'll be fine next season, but in this season it's important for him to get some game practice, get his psyche in order.
 
Sasha Orlov said:
I’m willing to give him a little bit of slack for his skating given the knee injury but there is zero excuse for his avoidance of any physical contact

Guy is 6’5 and is literally the easiest player to knock off the puck in the NHL
Click to expand...
He didn't shy away from contact. But if someone doesn't have a solid knee, he doesn't have stability.
 
Sasha Orlov said:
Get real dude, he hasn’t won a single board battle in months

He got into a 2 on 2 battle tonight and literally stood there and watched
Click to expand...
Then you're the one watching wrong, as I've seen him win (using his body) in two games some time ago. And today again nothing. Of course, in the meantime, I haven't watched you.

About the knee, you need not only a solid core but also support in your legs if you want to win battles. And be mental right. He doesn't have that. Look how often he fell.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Marioesque and Farmboy Patty
VT said:
Then you're the one watching wrong, as I've seen him win (using his body) in two games some time ago. And today again nothing. Of course, in the meantime, I haven't watched you.

About the knee, you need not only a solid core but also support in your legs if you want to win battles. And be mental right. He doesn't have that. Look how often he fell.
Click to expand...
Just nonsense
 
  • Like
Reactions: le_sean and Monsieur Miz
Sasha Orlov said:
Just nonsense
Click to expand...
But if you think you don't need strong knees for good stability... . Anyway, this season is just a preparation for the next one.

As a Slovak, I'm rather interested in what Slafkovsky did again. Is he still playing so badly? This is pretty far from Brady Tkachuk's style. That's not how real power forwards play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Farmboy Patty
He reminds me of Thomas Vanek. Was glad the Habs didn't re-sign him at the time. Would be surprised if Laine is brought back after next year.
 
I really wanted to like him. But he's really an awful player, despite his unique talent. He's just a play killer. Whenever he has the puck in the O zone, you know the play will die on his stick.

I hope they find a way to get rid of him in the summer. At this point I would only play him on the power play and sit him the rest of the game.

I think I trust Pezzetta more at 5 on 5.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DAChampion and Durvann
He’s obviously out of shape from not having a full healthy season in a while & still adapting to his knee.
I’ve watched him play plenty of times on the Jets and his skating has always felt off since day 1.
Hoping he’ll use this next offseason to get back in shape and come back to his true self next season.
 
Last edited:
Souker said:
He’s obviously out of shape from not having a full healthy season in a while & still adapting to his knee surgery.
I’ve watched him play plenty of times on the Jets and his skating has always felt off since day 1.
Hoping he’ll use this next offseason to get back in shape and come back to his true self next season.
Click to expand...

Maybe he did need that surgery after all. His stops/starts have been weird all year and it was the same with Dach earlier on in the season.
 
  • Like
Reactions: salbutera and Souker
He's been a huge disappointment but I'm still glad Hughes pulled the trigger, these are the types of ''reclamation project'' gambles I don't mind since we didn't give up top assets/picks. Dach and Newhook on the other hand...
 
Last edited:
Although we gave them too many good chances overall we had better opportunities we just couldn’t convert… Also too much coasting everyone needs to move their feet a bit more the difference was clear vs. Such a young team.

Demidov was pretty amazing. Newhook should have had 3 goals… I think Demidov and Laine would be a great duo.
Suzuki going shoulder first in the board didn’t look good glad to see he was back.

Laine and Matheson as usual getting way too much blame, for no reason…

Once the had drop the puck for Laine too shot without having initiated the replay how can they allow that goal… it was clearly a good goal but still…

Now that we are in the playoff everyone seem to be a little bit too on edge… Fan , media seem to be panicking and it is putting more pressure on coach and player, no much negativity right now… Think back to the beginning of the year what were the expectations?
-In the mix… was it being in a playoff spot with 81 games played? Probably not
-Hutson being a Calder candidate might have been considered but beating records and being the front runner and our best D? Probably not
-Laine scoring 20 after is preseason injury? Probably not
-Demidov playing in the NHL this season? No
-Gallagher/Anderson/ Dvorak being avg NHLer or better?
There lots of stuff to that weren’t ideal but mostly everything is going in the right direction or better than expected, if we were the NYR I would understand but we should be a lot more positive…
 
  • Like
Reactions: Marioesque and 26Mats
Sorinth said:
Laine's big issue is that he's just not moving his feet enough. I think this is partly because he's still not back to full strength in terms of skating but it's also very much a mental thing, he probably doesn't trust his skating and is trying too much to play it safe and almost always chooses to try slow the play down even when the best option is to push the pace. Though it doesn't help that his linemates rarely hit him with a tape to tape pass when he's in motion which is probably both a problem with them but also his positioning/routes. Either way I would expect Demidov to help there, both because he's a better techinical passer and because he'll read Laine's routes better.
Click to expand...

He has had the issue of not moving his feet for quite a long time. Some old clips from WPG years. Also it's fair to add that the knee injury might also impact this.



 
donghabs98 said:
Laine's has a great shot but man he doesn't use his size at all and doesn't have the footspeed to compensate for it. If he turns over the puck, rarely can he skate back to provide any defensive cover.
Click to expand...
His speed is fine, he has a long gait that makes him look slower than he is.

But he’s not fit, he’s not healthy, and this season was always going to be a write-off for him even prior to that unfortunate knee injury — this is why he was negative value over summer.

He has admitted that he wasn’t training well and his mind wasn’t on sport. I’m typically tough on players but Laine I just can’t bring myself to criticize knowing all the context (+ his surprisingly good and useful production).

Another unfortunate fact is that he is paired with one of the worst players of the roster, Alex Newhook. It’s unavoidable. Newhook’s line was a blackhole all season.

My hope is he can have a full summer to train and show a better face next season. If he needs surgery to fix whatever is going on in his knee I really hope when he gets back his stamina and balance and strength is at an acceptable level.

I’m certain his effort levels and defensive contribution will improve once he has his athletic abilities to par.
 
  • Like
Reactions: calder candidate, Marioesque and the
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

  • ... and 5 more.
    • Total: 16 (members: 13, guests: 3)

    Latest posts

    Ad

    Ad

    Top Bottom