Player Discussion Patrik Laine: ruining the tank

[ahmedou]

LAINE SCORED 8 OF HIS 9 GOALS PROVIDED BY HUTSON'S ASSISTS

 

[Habssince89]

You can tell he's a bit bothered by a lack of ES points. Laine is very focused on proving he's a legit star, and he doesn't want to be a PP merchant only. Loved his hits last night, and it looks like he's in slightly better shape conditioning wise. Maybe a good thing to sit out for so long?

 

[26Mats]

LAINE SCORED 8 OF HIS 9 GOALS PROVIDED BY HUTSON'S ASSISTS

He should be scoring even more when he has better 5 on 5 linemates.

Hopefully Dach will get better, and Demidov replaces Newhook in the top 6 next year.

 

[ReHabs]

Gotta love the double standard.

Give Dach 40 games to get back in shape.

Blame Laine even strength production although he is almost PPG coming back from LTIR

Of course many of the same whiners didn’t want Laine in the first place. Projects, underdogs, “low-risk high-reward”, bargains, waiver gems, diamonds in the rough — that’s the sort of players this fanbase is into.

 

[ReHabs]

Yup the minute we see him getting quicker in puck possession the more those moves will result in SOG's. Two or three times he looked like he was in perfect position to let fly but it closed on him before he could react. That WILL change provided he can play games.

Given his age + his pedigree + the horror show injury experience the past few seasons + mental health issues (very likely) keeping him far from peak condition…

I trust he can recover his speed and agility

 

[Kimota]

His contract is up in 2026.

It's funny to dismiss a PPG forward with a truly legendary shot as a one-trick pony when 1) we haven't had a PPG forward since Kovalev in 2008 and 2) our second line would otherwise be two bozos and a bust (or is it two busts and a bozo?).

Alright then, we will have plenty of time to watch what he can do until his contract is up.

Ridiculous post. If Laine is like a Bergeron, then so are Suzuki and Caufield.

Laine already has 4 seasons where he paced for 50+ EV pts.
This season is the first time in their career that Suzuki and Caufield are on pace for that.

What is that logic. Suz and CC have producing at even strength since the beginning of the year.

All I'm saying is calm down before going nuts with the $$$. We only have had a small sample.

 

[Dagistitsyn]

You can tell he's a bit bothered by a lack of ES points. Laine is very focused on proving he's a legit star, and he doesn't want to be a PP merchant only. Loved his hits last night, and it looks like he's in slightly better shape conditioning wise. Maybe a good thing to sit out for so long?

Newhook and Dach have been black holes for offense in most of their games to be fair.

If Laine was in Slafkovskys spot with Suzuki on the first line he’d be putting up points even if he isn’t close to 100% game shape yet.

 

[Vachon23]

I wouldn’t go more then 3 years personally.

His health and 5 on 5 play are worrying me

 

[ReHabs]

Alright then, we will have plenty of time to watch what he can do until his contract is up.

Yup — precisely why the trade was a no brainer and every prescient fan knew it was a great acquisition. I’m so glad Hughes saw what some of us saw and so glad Hughes didn’t think it was too important to “leave a spot” for Joshua fkn Roy in the Habs top6.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

What is that logic. Suz and CC have producing at even strength since the beginning of the year.

All I'm saying is calm down before going nuts with the $$$. We only have had a small sample.

So you're just going to ignore what Laine did in the past and only look at his performance after a major injury and having missed a whole year? Laine has played 500 NHL games, we have a huge sample size to determine the kind of player he is.

 

[Habssince89]

So you're just going to ignore what Laine did in the past and only look at his performance after a major injury and having missed a whole year? Laine has played 500 NHL games, we have a huge sample size to determine the kind of player he is.

and was essentially PPG in columbus despite a bad situation, and playing C at times. He's great

 

[Skip Bayless]

He should be scoring even more when he has better 5 on 5 linemates.

Hopefully Dach will get better, and Demidov replaces Newhook in the top 6 next year.

I think Laine has been bad 5 on 5, turns it over a bunch, which is to be expected since his long layover. But to only blame Dach and Newhook is dishonest. They're all equally bad.

 

[Trabdy2]

I think Laine has been bad 5 on 5, turns it over a bunch, which is to be expected since his long layover. But to only blame Dach and Newhook is dishonest. They're all equally bad.

Yeah, neither of the three seem to be very good defensive players. It's sort of risky to have them all on a line.

I feel like they've been improving a bit as a group 5 on 5, but overall there is a lot to be desired still. They don't seem to mesh well, and they're so liable to turn the puck over in bad areas.

 

[26Mats]

I think Laine has been bad 5 on 5, turns it over a bunch, which is to be expected since his long layover. But to only blame Dach and Newhook is dishonest. They're all equally bad.

Laine amd Dach are still getting their timing back.

Newhook doesn't belong in the top 6.

The other three lines are playing well. But if the Dach line can't get it to gather, the line combos will have to be changed to change that line.

 

[Kimota]

So you're just going to ignore what Laine did in the past and only look at his performance after a major injury and having missed a whole year? Laine has played 500 NHL games, we have a huge sample size to determine the kind of player he is.

His production has dropped a lot. The Jets wanted to get rid of him. The Jackets wanted to get rid of him. And he has been injured a lot. This is not just a past of glory.

Furthermore giving a player something for what he did before is what lead us to the Gally contract. We cannot be bogged down as an organization by an albatros. That would be incredibly irresponsible. And I'm sure Hughes is smart enough to realise that. He's gonna evaluate all the positives and negatives and make a smart decision.

We have the rest of 2025 and months in 2026 to see Laine. Let's see what he does.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

His production has dropped a lot. The Jets wanted to get rid of him. The Jackets wanted to get rid of him. And he has been injured a lot. This is not just a past of glory.

Furthermore giving a player something for what he did before is what lead us to the Gally contract. We cannot be bogged down as an organization by an albatros. That would be incredibly irresponsible. And I'm sure Hughes is smart enough to realise that. He's gonna evaluate all the positives and negatives and make a smart decision.

We have the rest of 2025 and months in 2026 to see Laine. Let's see what he does.

My issue with your post isn't about the risk/reward of signing Laine. It's about you comparing Laine to the forward version of MA Bergeron. That's a hot take based on just a 14-game sample. It's the same kind of analysis used by people who wanted to get rid of Dach earlier in the season, or those who were calling for Marty to be fired saying his system doesn't work. They completely ignored how good Dach looked before his injury, and how Marty had the Habs playing competitively for many games last season. You're taking a small sample size from this season and treating it as if it's the norm.

 

[VT]

His production has dropped a lot. The Jets wanted to get rid of him. The Jackets wanted to get rid of him. And he has been injured a lot. This is not just a past of glory.

Furthermore giving a player something for what he did before is what lead us to the Gally contract. We cannot be bogged down as an organization by an albatros. That would be incredibly irresponsible. And I'm sure Hughes is smart enough to realise that. He's gonna evaluate all the positives and negatives and make a smart decision.

We have the rest of 2025 and months in 2026 to see Laine. Let's see what he does.

Jackets didn't want to get rid of him. Waddell wanted so that he stayed. Patrik himself wanted to leave Columbus although Evason talked with him.

Also he had excellent stats in 2021/22 and especially 2022/23 although didn't have so good partners as Marchenko in CBJ now. Especially in defense, also Evason is a great coach.

To injuries. Look how they wanted, any chronical but bad luck. Every player would injure. Btw he was cured earlier.

At the end of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons I don't count, we tanked so no one was trying to get him to come back to play.

I don't count 2020/21 season because COVID and not everyone handled it well, especially if he was away, without family, because it was necessary. Also the 2023/24 season - he had a concussion in 4 games (returned too early) and broken collarbone in 18 game + mental issues.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Laine and Demidov in top 6 next year will look us offensive group so much dangerous guys.

 

[Habssince89]

Laine and Demidov in top 6 next year will look us offensive group so much dangerous guys.

What I love is both Demidov, Caufield, and Hutson like to move around and pull defenders with them as they dangle through the zone. Laine will get alot of good opportunities because of the distracted defenders forgetting to cover him.

 

[KevSkillz4]

What I love is both Demidov, Caufield, and Hutson like to move around and pull defenders with them as they dangle through the zone. Laine will get alot of good opportunities because of the distracted defenders forgetting to cover him.

That's why, I want Laine for more 6 years in this team. He is highly skilled guy with hallejuah shot man. Demidov, Hutson and Laine on same PP, wow!

Unreal to have Caufield, Demidov, Hutson, Slafkovsky, Suzuki aswell. Michael Hage too will likely to become something very special.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I wouldn’t go more then 3 years personally.

His health and 5 on 5 play are worrying me

Lets see more sample size. It's been nice so far but it's still early with Laine. We got the rest of this season and next to decide.

Laine has had some turnovers in key areas at times and I don't think he's going to win many puck battle wars. It is what it is and you take the good and bad. The good is his shot is a game breaker but the bad is we need to have him in the right 5/5 spot. Not sure I like Laine with Dach

What I love is both Demidov, Caufield, and Hutson like to move around and pull defenders with them as they dangle through the zone. Laine will get alot of good opportunities because of the distracted defenders forgetting to cover him.

100% That's how space gets freed up. Having puck movers where the D has to respect them and then some shooters mixed in. It's a great mix

 

[Rapala]

LAINE SCORED 8 OF HIS 9 GOALS PROVIDED BY HUTSON'S ASSISTS

Laine Hutson Suzuki is proving to be a extremely dangerous proposition.
I'm noticing the cross crease is opening up big time after Laine is set up.
I think he had Suzuki wide open on the back half of that 5v3 when he elected to shoot.
We do want him shooting for the most part but varying what he's doing can't hurt once in a while.
His slap pass must be just as accurate as his shot.

 

[Rapala]

I wouldn’t go more then 3 years personally.

His health and 5 on 5 play are worrying me

There definitely has to be a much larger sample size before pulling that type of trigger.
Availability has to be a concern before giving him term. I also would need to see much better foot speed than he's currently showing. I don't see how his current skating would hold up to the frenetic pace of the post season. We need more than just a PP specialist for the coin he's going to want. We have enough incoming talent in the next couple of years to have a great PP just the same.