Player Discussion Patrik Laine: ruining the tank

[Guiness time]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Only watched the first two periods but our boy CC looks dynamite. Possibly our most dangerous forward this game. If he had slightly better puck skills I think he'd be a superstar no question about it. I think he's damn close. He's just really smart. The playmaking is starting to show. It's funny how many still seem slow to praise him. So many really dug their heels in against him. It's clear to me though that he's a huge piece.

Hutson is unreal. Not much else to say. Someone on here was saying on the GDT that both teams are garbage but the Preds have Josi. Hutson already has more points than rookie Josi got in like 25 less games lol. Christ he's only 6 points behind him now ffs. I'm as shocked as anyone by the start but guys, he broke Brian f***ing Leetch's freshman point record. Wasn't exactly a stacked team either. He could be a damn near generational talent. Everything he's done since drafted points to that.

Really liked Slaf's game. I saw maybe one brain fart and a BIT casual of play but still, tons of great board work, back checking, forechecking, playmaking some chances. He can be much better and yet he still brings so much. If people want to rehash the bust talk or middle 6 forward nonsense or whatever, let them. He still has tons of room to grow. Even with Hutson, Demidov and Laine--there's a chance that at the end of the day, Slaf could be our best all around player in a few years.

My 30+ year fandom of this offensive starved franchise (during that time) can't even comprehend the addition of Demidov. It's gonna be so fun at the very worst. We got plenty of fire power. It's all about filling the holes.

We're going to be a really fun team to watch. I thought we were going to see some of it this year but the injuries and awful start really wrecked things. Sure enough we may have turned a corner now. We've been much better lately.

And yeah, the talent is there. A couple of years ago I said that Suzuki had to PROVE that he was a number one. The potential was always there but he never actually did it. Same thing for CC now. The talent is there and he's already shown he can score at a 50 goal pace when healthy. I think he's a premier scorer but he has to show it. Hopefully this is the year. If he can do it with some consistency (we will see) then I'd say that qualifies.

Hutson's among the leaders in the league in all kinds of possession/passing numbers. He's been unreal. I think he's a pretty good bet for superstardom.

Slaf has all the tools. Demidov I can't wait to see. Throw in Laine and Suzuki and we'll be able to score a lot of goals.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

like Ween says, "SHE WANTED TO LEAVE!"

 

[Marioesque]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

In the end, he had missed a lot of time and Columbus was doing a re-haul firing GM etc

He didn't really leave them a lot of options either because he asked for a trade and a new start. They were willing to let go because he was rarely available to play.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

We're going to be a really fun team to watch. I thought we were going to see some of it this year but the injuries and awful start really wrecked things. Sure enough we may have turned a corner now. We've been much better lately.

And yeah, the talent is there. A couple of years ago I said that Suzuki had to PROVE that he was a number one. The potential was always there but he never actually did it. Same thing for CC now. The talent is there and he's already shown he can score at a 50 goal pace when healthy. I think he's a premier scorer but he has to show it. Hopefully this is the year. If he can do it with some consistency (we will see) then I'd say that qualifies.

Hutson's among the leaders in the league in all kinds of possession/passing numbers. He's been unreal. I think he's a pretty good bet for superstardom.

Slaf has all the tools. Demidov I can't wait to see. Throw in Laine and Suzuki and we'll be able to score a lot of goals.

yep and Guhle and Reinbacher, Engstrom, Mailloux (gotta pick it up but still a huge talent). Hage and Beck.

And we gotta bunch of B/C tier prospects who look like they could fill out the holes in the bottom 6. Tuch, Davidson, Xhekaj the younger, Kapanen. Roy and Mesar are talented long-ish shots for some added depth. Things are great. I don't get the pessimism.

 

[HuGort]

Laine gives Montreal it's second scoring line. Which they lost with collapse of Dach and Laine injured. Now we look like a .500 team at least

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Laine gives Montreal it's second scoring line. Which they lost with collapse of Dach and Laine injured. Now we look like a .500 team at least

If Dach and Slaf keep improving and the D can remain solid, I think we could be a bubble team.

The PP makeover alone could easily get us far more points in the standings.

 

[overlords]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

They thought the new coach and stuff would convince him to stay but he wanted out and they figured it out too late into the offseason. Very few teams could take on his cap that late into things.

 

[red devil]

 

[salbutera]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

Because Laine asked to be dealt, despite new coach Evason personally spending time with him hoping that would convince him to want to remain w CBJ?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Laine gives Montreal it's second scoring line. Which they lost with collapse of Dach and Laine injured. Now we look like a .500 team at least

It's funny, I thought Dach would be the one reviving Laine's career. It's the exact opposite. Playing with Laine should help Dach get some confidence.

 

[Hacketts]

Patrik Laine syöksyi pimeyteen isänsä kuoltua â nyt hän haluaa puhua elämänsä parhaasta päätöksestä

Patrik Laine sanoo, ettei tiedä, olisiko päässyt asiasta koskaan yli, jos tuorein vamma olisi sattunut puolitoista vuotta sitten.

yle.fi

Not sure if it's been posted. Finnish article, somewhat recent.

 

[VT]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

Patrik refused to play for Columbus because of mental problems. That's why Waddell traded him just to keep his salary. By the way, CBL fans don't blame him for his request as they understand the reasons (and we don't even knew exactly his problems).

 

[KevSkillz4]

I love him man!

So hype to have him with Habs!

 

[Kiekura]

Patriks issue has been injuries and then his mental health. Skill and talent has always been there. His distance shot is probably best in NHL. Not best overall goal scorer, but that shot is just absurd.

He seems mentally like complitely new guy and that is HUGE thing for anybody, but specially for guy who lives to score. Then he has St. Louis as coach and that is another massive thing that can help him with this game, specially when things get hard.

This is most positive i have been about Laine since his early Winnipeg years.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Patriks issue has been injuries and then his mental health. Skill and talent has always been there. His distance shot is probably best in NHL. Not best overall goal scorer, but that shot is just absurd.

He seems mentally like complitely new guy and that is HUGE thing for anybody, but specially for guy who lives to score. Then he has St. Louis as coach and that is another massive thing that can help him with this game, specially when things get hard.

This is most positive i have been about Laine since his early Winnipeg years.

And he play for bad environment with Columbus and Jets. Lost his father aswell.

When healthy, mental and physic, he is a star. 100%

 

[NotCommitted]

I've watched only the goals so no idea how he has looked out there overall but just from his goal celebrations he looks back to his old self. So glad to see that. Honestly bummed not getting to see it in Columbus but wish him all the best and Montreal could be a great spot for him, hockey crazy city and legendary team and the reception has been amazing, I think he's the kind of guy who could really thrive in that atmosphere. I'll probably try to catch some games when work etc. permit, would like to see how he's doing... I've been following him close going back to 2015 or something, he's just a fun guy to watch and a bit 'special' for both better and worse. Hopefully more for the better

For the first 200 games or so of his career he was one of the top goal scorers in the league... he finished top10 as a rookie despite missing around 10 games (and spending large part of the year on the 2nd pp unit) and in his sophomore year finished 2nd behind only Ovechkin. There's a moment in time somewhere in late Nov or early Dec of 2018 when he led the whole league in goals counting from beginning of 2016-2017 season. That's over 2 year span. I would argue this was possible because he had hands down the best overall shot arsenal in the league back then, that's my opinion and I stand by it Honestly I've never seen anyone make goal scoring look so easy as Laine did back then and it was crazy since you could see he was still so raw as a player.

That said that shot hasn't been the same in recent years (also my opinion), who knows why, maybe Laine (or not). The upside of missing almost a year is if he had any nagging injuries he had time to heal and maybe that shoulder op was one such thing - good to get cleaned but not serious enough to warrant missing games for it? Who knows, main thing is he looks to be in a good place as a hockey player and more importantly a person, so wish him and the Canadiens well.

I dunno if he'll ever go back to being the kind of goal scoring beast he was early on, but the potential is there and he's done it before, his career has just been weird and derailed by injuries, losing his father etc... but even then he was great for Columbus in 21-22 & 22-23, I don't think most people realize just how good he played because the team was so bad and he missed over 25 games both seasons. If he was doing that while battling depression and side effects, who knows, could be Montreal will see him play his best hockey so far. Seems to me people in Montreal are realizing there's more to his game than that shot. He has his warts too but I'll be a hype man and let people discover them on their own

 

[Erika]

yeah I don't think it's quite Matthews/Ovi level but it ain't that far off. As long as he brings it come playoff time, I'll be happy.

But like everyone else said could've had a couple assists too. That one play where the guy just bounced off him lol. I think he's gonna be a Hab long term.

Nahhh, if you just compare the shot aspect alone, Laine is top 3 in the league. That shot is better than Ovechkin. Ovechkin is the better goal scorer though, but Laine is very close.
Like prime Ovy is 55-60 goals
Laine is more 45-50 goals. Laine is a better playmaker imo.

 

[TheFutureisBright]

The guy has so much talent yet traded for so little. There must be a lot more weird than just his jacket today. Otherwise it makes no sense.

He did ask for a trade so it's not all on CBJ. Maybe there were reminders there that impacted his mental health. Hopefully Mtl can sooze those worries That being said..... just Harris? And we got a 2nd?

 

[ReHabs]

He did ask for a trade so it's not all on CBJ. Maybe there were reminders there that impacted his mental health. Hopefully Mtl can sooze those worries That being said..... just Harris? And we got a 2nd?

Cap space is valuable. Hughes had thankfully not burned through it by wisely not signing some of the awful UFAs from last summer’s cohort.

 

[BB88]

Can someone please remind me why Columbus got rid of Laine? Seriously, what the heck were they thinking?

I find 3 reasons

1) Laine went to get help, because of that he was seen as a toxic asset. There was fear what Laine comes back& people really didn’t realize why Laine went to get help

2) Columbus got new management who had no emotional ties to Laine and past players and were just easier to get rid of and start from a clean table. They didn’t realize how good of a player they had in hand

3) Cap space, Columbus owner wanted the full Laine contract gone. Now when that trade happen what teams had enough space to take on Laine at 100% and where Laine was willing to go? = Montreal
So Columbus valued cap space more than the actual return

Let’s just say that with what a mess Columbus had been and personal issues Laine had been dealing with Montreal was just on the right place at the right time to get the benefits of that bad marriage

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

So nice of them to let that make-a-wish kid in 13 join in the celebration.


Laine has played two games and they've been an effective two games, but it's two games.

Let's wait and see how he's doing in 30 games.

Columbus moved on from Laine, because Laine wanted out.

Given how his previous seasons have gone and injuries people were hesitant to acquire him, but there was, what 1, or 2 teams he rejected ( Philly for sure, I think Minnesota, too? )

I'm sure had he not asked to be dealt he would still be a Blue Jacket

 

[Easternbull]

After Big Buff Laine has not played a true nr1 pp quaterback like Hutson, Werenski and Morrisey are not on even close.

After Scheiffele and maybe for a short stint with Stastny, Patrik has not played with a true center. Boone Jenner is good but no where near a number one.

Even though Blake Wheeler was an @#shole, he was an lite passera on that jets powerplay and shure feed Party many beauties.

He is not slow or lazy, he backcecks and has a huge stride, good luck catching hon when he has shifted a few gears. Has learned to shields and ptotect the puck with his lanky frame, but he will never fill out and become the "power forward" Chevy, Wheeler and Pomo wanted him to be.

Also a wicked playmaker and passer and a super funny dry humor.

Will pot 50 one day for shure and most important ly, Patrik is clutch the bigger the moment or the stage the more he wants the puck on his stick.

I love the guy.

Vintage Patty

 

[waitin425]

We have something special. 2 games in. I hope we resign him.

Laine + Caufield as snipers is as deadly a combo as any in the league. Two huge scoring threats. Going to make things difficult for other teams!

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

We have something special. 2 games in. I hope we resign him.

Laine + Caufield as snipers is as deadly a combo as any in the league. Two huge scoring threats. Going to make things difficult for other teams!

You probably get a third one with Demidov. As long as Laine can stay healthy for the next months and next year, you need to keep him.