Player Discussion Patrik Laine: ruining the tank

[themilosh]

Not to undersell him but he is coming off a lot of downtime and rehab. If he gets 60-65pts, I'll be happy because that's about at least c. 20 net Goals For he's added to our team stats which would, by itself, place us much closer to a playoff spot. Any more than that is obviously great.

My point with wanting Laine was to have sufficient skill/depth to ensure we're not playing dead rubber games from January on. So a 60-65pt player added to the lineup is hopefully mission accomplished.

On a personal level, I'd like to see him rip the league apart and prove the haters and losers wrong. Following a 90-95pt season where he carries us to the second round of the playoffs and puts up 10pts in 12gp, Hughes and him will have a 8 year extension locked up on July 1st 2025 at 11m/year. Let's go baby.

If Laine comes out guns a blazing this year, and gets 90pts... i guarantee you he will sign at <Suzuki.. why? he will be happy for the first time in 5yrs..

 

[ReHabs]

If Laine comes out guns a blazing this year, and gets 90pts... i guarantee you he will sign at <Suzuki.. why? he will be happy for the first time in 5yrs..

People don't leave cash on the table and there is no "internal salary cap". All of Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky were paid above their present value at the time of the contract, Laine will sign for his present value at the time of the contract (or slightly below it, depending on the duration). 90pts is worth more than 7.8m, and Laine and his agents will know this.

 

[Habssince89]

Laine wants to get on a winning team so he can rebuild his legacy. He got plenty of time left but he wasn't going to waste it in CLB. He's going to be looking for a long term deal but I don't think he's a mercenary. He wants a home. He wants to matter as a star player.

 

[calder candidate]

Your expectation is that laine has his worst season?

Not considering last season, he had 50pts and 82 games and 21pts in 45 games Those would be his worst season. My expectation is that there is a reason they had to pay to move him. Maybe I’m setting the bar low but 56 pts is still a top 6 FW so it is acceptable, I am hoping for 65-80 pts but won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t reach those numbers.

 

[calder candidate]

Laine wants to get on a winning team so he can rebuild his legacy. He got plenty of time left but he wasn't going to waste it in CLB. He's going to be looking for a long term deal but I don't think he's a mercenary. He wants a home. He wants to matter as a star player.

That might be true but if he bounces back, he will also get to pick of team and get the $ as a UFA, so i don’t see him taken a big home discount, not saying he just after the money but is agent will get fair value.

 

[Vachon23]

People don't leave cash on the table and there is no "internal salary cap". All of Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky were paid above their present value at the time of the contract, Laine will sign for his present value at the time of the contract (or slightly below it, depending on the duration). 90pts is worth more than 7.8m, and Laine and his agents will know this.

And those deals where sign after their ELC, Laine next deal will be sign as UFA eligible, those contracts are more expensive

 

[waitin425]

Obviously if he comes in and dominates and becomes our #1 scorer, he will deserve to be paid accordingly. Based on recent past performance, I have my doubts that his next contract will be = or > than his currently deal. Ideally, he plays his way into a Suzuki like contract.

In a perfect world, Dach also plays his way into that contract as well, and then we have Demi come in spend, 3 years on his ELC, and resets our "internal cap". Even if there is no such thing.

Hypothetically....let's say we have our top 6 each making (and more importantly..earning) 7.5 million per year. That puts our top 6 at a 45 million per year.

The Leafs, as an example....once Tavares drops from current crazy salary have Matthews (13.25), Nylander (11.5) and Marner (proj. 11.5). Putting there top 3 at 36.25, leaving under 9 million for their next 3 of the top 6.

I for one, would rather have 6 x $7.5 million players than, the structure the leafs have.

I love what we are building.

I hope Laine, plays his way into our long term structure.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Obviously if he comes in and dominates and becomes our #1 scorer, he will deserve to be paid accordingly. Based on recent past performance, I have my doubts that his next contract will be = or > than his currently deal. Ideally, he plays his way into a Suzuki like contract.

In a perfect world, Dach also plays his way into that contract as well, and then we have Demi come in spend, 3 years on his ELC, and resets our "internal cap". Even if there is no such thing.

Hypothetically....let's say we have our top 6 each making (and more importantly..earning) 7.5 million per year. That puts our top 6 at a 45 million per year.

The Leafs, as an example....once Tavares drops from current crazy salary have Matthews (13.25), Nylander (11.5) and Marner (proj. 11.5). Putting there top 3 at 36.25, leaving under 9 million for their next 3 of the top 6.

I for one, would rather have 6 x $7.5 million players than, the structure the leafs have.

I love what we are building.

I hope Laine, plays his way into our long term structure.

The ultimate hope is that Laine plays back to his potential under us and loves it in Montreal/under Marty enough that he takes a sweetheart deal to remain a part of the solution going forward.

I'm hopeful that could be the case given his mental health struggles and knowing some spots aren't the best for him. Maybe being in the right environment would be worth it to him more than a couple extra million every year.

Obviously I have my concerns this is the right environment for him but he said himself that he prefers being somewhere where hockey matters, so maybe he's one of those individuals where this is the environment for him rather than a quiet Columbus market.

 

[shamrun]

Obviously if he comes in and dominates and becomes our #1 scorer, he will deserve to be paid accordingly. Based on recent past performance, I have my doubts that his next contract will be = or > than his currently deal. Ideally, he plays his way into a Suzuki like contract.

In a perfect world, Dach also plays his way into that contract as well, and then we have Demi come in spend, 3 years on his ELC, and resets our "internal cap". Even if there is no such thing.

Hypothetically....let's say we have our top 6 each making (and more importantly..earning) 7.5 million per year. That puts our top 6 at a 45 million per year.

The Leafs, as an example....once Tavares drops from current crazy salary have Matthews (13.25), Nylander (11.5) and Marner (proj. 11.5). Putting there top 3 at 36.25, leaving under 9 million for their next 3 of the top 6.

I for one, would rather have 6 x $7.5 million players than, the structure the leafs have.

I love what we are building.

I hope Laine, plays his way into our long term structure.

I can tell the leafs will overpay for an over the hill dmen or goalie once the tavares contract is done.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

The ultimate hope is that Laine plays back to his potential under us and loves it in Montreal/under Marty enough that he takes a sweetheart deal to remain a part of the solution going forward.

I'm hopeful that could be the case given his mental health struggles and knowing some spots aren't the best for him. Maybe being in the right environment would be worth it to him more than a couple extra million every year.

Obviously I have my concerns this is the right environment for him but he said himself that he prefers being somewhere where hockey matters, so maybe he's one of those individuals where this is the environment for him rather than a quiet Columbus market.

While yes that's the best case scenario and I think we would all love that, he will be a UFA at age 28, probably his last chance at a huge contract. I don't think he will be taking that much of a cut if he scores in the next 2 seasons, at best 7 per or 7.5 again on a 6-7 year deal. ? Let's see how it goes this year, I guess the 2 years left helps us in that regards to take that decision down the road. Also what happens to guys like Dach injury wise..

 

[le_sean]

Let him show that he’s worth keeping before thinking of his next contract.

 

[sampollock]

The ultimate hope is that Laine plays back to his potential under us and loves it in Montreal/under Marty enough that he takes a sweetheart deal to remain a part of the solution going forward.

I'm hopeful that could be the case given his mental health struggles and knowing some spots aren't the best for him. Maybe being in the right environment would be worth it to him more than a couple extra million every year.

Obviously I have my concerns this is the right environment for him but he said himself that he prefers being somewhere where hockey matters, so maybe he's one of those individuals where this is the environment for him rather than a quiet Columbus market.

i would not worry about environment. he will be great. 30/40 goal man

PL will push CC now, CC needs to step up some to keep PP1

 

[JianYang]

Not considering last season, he had 50pts and 82 games and 21pts in 45 games Those would be his worst season. My expectation is that there is a reason they had to pay to move him. Maybe I’m setting the bar low but 56 pts is still a top 6 FW so it is acceptable, I am hoping for 65-80 pts but won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t reach those numbers.

Yes, they had to pay to move him because the demand for Laine at no cap retention was very low, and it seemed important to Columbus that he get moved with no retention.

Montreal was one of those teams that didn't spend in free agency, and so they maintained cap flexibility. There are reports they went after Marchessault, but even though I have my doubts on Laine, I'd rather him than mid 30s Marchessault, so perhaps some luck occurred here that the Habs could facilitate this deal.

 

[JianYang]

i would not worry about environment. he will be great. 30/40 goal man

PL will push CC now, CC needs to step up some to keep

Cc and pl can potentially coexist on the same unit. Dach might be the odd man out.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Cc and pl can potentially coexist on the same unit. Dach might be the odd man out.

Dach on PP2 was always the likely scenario. He can run that one himself. But PL or CC will be on his unit most times if not at all times.

 

[ahmedou]

We got Laine because of Halak's trade. That's so crazy.

I love hockey trades. That what makes the charm of hockey.

 

[JIMVINNY]

Dach on PP2 was always the likely scenario. He can run that one himself. But PL or CC will be on his unit most times if not at all times.

With 5 legitimate top 6 forwards, it makes no sense to load up PP1. Run two units and spread out the assets. PP1 can be Suzuki's line with Matheson and Guhle, PP2 can be Laine, Dach and Newhook with Hutson and Xhekaj. We need to have two effective units instead of one good unit with one unit of leftovers. When Demidov gets here, along with Mailloux, we can revisit.

 

[Jack Skellington]

The ultimate hope is that Laine plays back to his potential under us and loves it in Montreal/under Marty enough that he takes a sweetheart deal to remain a part of the solution going forward.

I'm hopeful that could be the case given his mental health struggles and knowing some spots aren't the best for him. Maybe being in the right environment would be worth it to him more than a couple extra million every year.

Obviously I have my concerns this is the right environment for him but he said himself that he prefers being somewhere where hockey matters, so maybe he's one of those individuals where this is the environment for him rather than a quiet Columbus market.

When the guy scores an overtime goal he'll be hooked

 

[Jaynki]

We got Laine because of Halak's trade. That's so crazy.

I love hockey trades. That what makes the charm of hockey.

We have him in the 1st place because we did not blindly spend our money on useless contract those past years.

Harris is a nice gesture but we would have ended up with him Harris or not.

 

[Guess]

How does Laine compare to Tage Thompson? Just wondering as they're both big dudes (6'4") with slick hands, a good shot and inconsistent seasons (didn't mention other big guys like PLD or Draisaitl as I know enough about those guys)

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

With 5 legitimate top 6 forwards, it makes no sense to load up PP1. Run two units and spread out the assets. PP1 can be Suzuki's line with Matheson and Guhle, PP2 can be Laine, Dach and Newhook with Hutson and Xhekaj. We need to have two effective units instead of one good unit with one unit of leftovers. When Demidov gets here, along with Mailloux, we can revisit.

It makes no sense for a team that has consistently been at the bottom of the league in PP success to want to spread assets on different units. Get 1 good pp unit first, then we can start talking about getting 2 good pp units.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

How does Laine compare to Tage Thompson? Just wondering as they're both big dudes (6'4") with slick hands, a good shot and inconsistent seasons (didn't mention other big guys like PLD or Draisaitl as I know enough about those guys)

It's a different type of game, it's hard to really compare these two IMO, outside of the size. Thompson likes to carry the puck and have it on his stick a lot, Laine is more of a cycle and shot type.

 

[BB88]

Yes, they had to pay to move him because the demand for Laine at no cap retention was very low, and it seemed important to Columbus that he get moved with no retention.

Montreal was one of those teams that didn't spend in free agency, and so they maintained cap flexibility. There are reports they went after Marchessault, but even though I have my doubts on Laine, I'd rather him than mid 30s Marchessault, so perhaps some luck occurred here that the Habs could facilitate this deal.

Montreal was lucky/got lucky

They were the only team from the realistic teams that had cap space to take Laine at full price

At 50% the market for Laine would have looked completely different and Columbus really missed on that one

 

[Guess]

Montreal was lucky/got lucky

They were the only team from the realistic teams that had cap space to take Laine at full price

At 50% the market for Laine would have looked completely different and Columbus really missed on that one

Apparently there was another team that would have taken his full salary but Laine nixed the trade as that team was on his no trade list.

 

[Habricot]

Not considering last season, he had 50pts and 82 games and 21pts in 45 games Those would be his worst season. My expectation is that there is a reason they had to pay to move him. Maybe I’m setting the bar low but 56 pts is still a top 6 FW so it is acceptable, I am hoping for 65-80 pts but won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t reach those numbers.

You know there is nothing that I would like more then seeing Laine come here and pot 50 goals. 35G-30A will be a very successful come back. Can he do better sure. Can we expect more.. I do not think so.