Player Discussion Patrik Laine: ruining the tank

[BehindTheTimes]

Besides the otherworldly shot he really does remind me of Vanek when he was with us. Great smart possessions. Savvy playmaker. He’s f***ing terrific

Vanek was not terrific with us.

 

[Marioesque]

When Patty had a season where he had more assists than goals, he was asked about it and he said he wanted to make sure that was the last time.

"Assists are for assistants" -Laine

And he's a wicked playmaker

 

[nippanappa]

 

[Marioesque]

It's facts. Big Buff was great, but not like Hutson.

The damage these two will do together is gonna be incredible

Laine is the best shot in the world. Hutson can draw so much attention to him and make plays after that. It's the perfect recipe.

Suzuki is crucial too. The skill of these players opens up the room for Laine to shoot. That's all he's ever needed

 

[Bumbul]

Laine had somewhat ok stats while paying in Winnipeg.

Knowing your post history I know that's just an ironic understatement, but just in case, educating the audience: Laine turns 20, happy with goal total as teenager for Jets | NHL.com

 

[Marioesque]

Knowing your post history I know that's just an ironic understatement, but just in case, educating the audience: Laine turns 20, happy with goal total as teenager for Jets | NHL.com

Yeah. Had they kept Laine in 1st line and no concussion, he would have easily reached 50 goals at 18 as a rookie.

He reached 44 at 19, suffering most of season from a "past expiry date" Brian Little. They still scored but rarely. This was around the time he reached 100 goals 4th fastest in NHL history

And immediately when they got Stastny Laine blew up the league again.

He got buried in Columbus and injury. The generational talent was always there.

Now he finally gets the front page he deserved , in the biggest market/stage of hockey.

The biggest talent deserves the biggest stage

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

I know it's out of etiquette to quote one's own posts, but at least once I managed to foresee something. From page 17th of this same thread:

Happy with this unexpected, but fortunate move. Could be career-defining for Patrik.

I'd keep expectations on hold for most ridiculous numbers, but it is clear that Patrik should be at least utilized as PP force multiplier: it is hardly secret to anyone that when that cannon appear anywhere near his traditional office, an opponents tend to cheat toward him, sometimes even with 2 or 3 players, but always at least with one dedicated for the job. Only his presence there make more room for others regardless of do he get a puck or make a shot or not.

Hoping reasonably sheltered role and minutes for Patrik, and possibility to use his main weapon a lot. At least first as designated PP specialist, possibly doubling in both PP1 and PP2. Kind of embracing that age old "one-trick pony" metaphora, knowing it is not entirely true, but for that One trick certainly effective way to get started. I would give Patrik a lot of responsibility in re-organizing Habs powerplay, from shooting drills to actual tactical schemes...

And hey, everyone should just end idiotic experiments, desires, and fantasies concerning vision of "Patrik the center", it's waste of resources. Just pass the puck!

Patrik is an artist. Of rare specimen. Feed that inspiration.

Everything will go fine.

I didn't see his pre-season knee injury, but considerations are otherwise gone far above and beyond my expectations.

@Marioesque I can still remember those endless line-brawls against overwhelming odds vs. fans of Maple Leafs, but I hope sincerely that those days are gone now forever. I'm just happy.

 

[Bumbul]

He reached 44 at 19, suffering most of season from a "past expiry date" Brian Little.

Just 5 goals behind the league leading Ovechkin that season - while getting 98 minutes less PP TOI (and 4 minutes less TOI/G) than Ovie.

 

[Marioesque]

I'm just happy.

Me too buddy.

Might be about time I return to jatkoaika.

I think I have punished them enough with my absence. Maybe.

 

[BB88]

Today every pp is exciting for Montreal, you always know there’s that chance

Also Montreal seemed to be slumping a bit just before Laine got back and the entire feeling around the team is completely different today

 

[BB88]

That’s definitely true and why it’s working

In the past he has spend time way too much on the right side on pp and as great as Werenski is he’s for some reason never been a pp QB

Hutson has next level ability to pass and create vs his past linemates& on top of it MSL has probably told Laine to be Laine and not a 2way powerforward. Just play to his strenghts instead of trying to be something else. That’s why it’s working

That shot has every time a chance to go in

 

[VT]

That’s definitely true and why it’s working

In the past he has spend time way too much on the right side on pp and as great as Werenski is he’s for some reason never been a pp QB

Hutson has next level ability to pass and create vs his past linemates& on top of it MSL has probably told Laine to be Laine and not a 2way powerforward. Just play to his strenghts instead of trying to be something else. That’s why it’s working

That shot has every time a chance to go in

Don't forget that Laine himself wanted to play center, he didn't just want to be a sniper, he wanted to show more.
Besides, he played his best hockey in the 2021/22 and especially 2022/23 seasons.

Werenski is a sniper, not a playmaker. Jones was him, Boqvist too but was not used. PP Unit in the at the second half of the 2022/23 season - Jenner in front of the net, Marchenko on the slot, Laine on the left side, Gaudreau on the right side and Boqvist as QB. And was excellent.

 

[Zorro]

I don't think it's too much of a surprise to see that all of Laine's goals have been on the PP. On the 5v5 he's playing with 2 duds. I would swap Heineman and Newhook and see how that goes.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

No disrespect to Caulfield, but it feels like we haven't had that kind of guy since Cammalleri.

I’d put Caufield in the Cammalleri group and Laine in a very small group a la OVI or Stamkos.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Vanek was not terrific with us.

Regular season Vanek was. Playoff Vanek wasn’t

 

[BLONG7]

Vanek was not terrific with us.

The coach made sure of that...............Therrien LOL
I remember the look on Vanek's face when interviewed about being on the 4th line. LOL

Today every pp is exciting for Montreal, you always know there’s that chance

Also Montreal seemed to be slumping a bit just before Laine got back and the entire feeling around the team is completely different today

6-3 with Laine in the the lineup !!

 

[waitin425]

It's facts. Big Buff was great, but not like Hutson.

The damage these two will do together is gonna be incredible

Laine is the best shot in the world. Hutson can draw so much attention to him and make plays after that. It's the perfect recipe.

Suzuki is crucial too. The skill of these players opens up the room for Laine to shoot. That's all he's ever needed

And if a team focuses too much attention on stopping the Laine shot, we can swing it over to Caufield.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I think we’re a playoff team with Laine from the start. Add carrier and I think I woukdve liked our odds. We’ve got a hill to climb, but I think competitive games are more important than picks.

 

[Habs]

I don't want Laine to risk injury for this stupid 4 Nations BS cup.

 

[Kennerback]

Why dressing room dynamics are crucial and need to be factored in with all players with unconventional personalities. Re: Laine and Michkov. EXHIBIT A: Vancouver Canucks.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The coach made sure of that...............Therrien LOL
I remember the look on Vanek's face when interviewed about being on the 4th line. LOL

He was such a dumbass

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

And if a team focuses too much attention on stopping the Laine shot, we can swing it over to Caufield.

Yeah. The PP is lethal already and Demidov isn’t even here yet.

 

[JianYang]

It can't last. It's a streak that'll come to an end, and Laine will go through a dry spell like every player.

But for now... holy cow... never seen anything like this. Especially for our team! For this brief capsule in time, let's enjoy watching the hottest scoring threat in the league in a Habs jersey!

Yep, like anyone else who goes through this torrid pace, everything is going right. If he's not beating the goalie clean, he's getting bounces in his favour.

At some point, it's going to stop, and I hope fans don't start thinking what the the heck is going on.

I'm also interested to see how Laine reacts to it.