Player Discussion Patrik Laine: wearing a regular practice jersey

[McGees]

There is nobody internally or available externally, that is replacing Laine's potential goals...whether he ended up with 20, 30 or 40.
Losing him even as a reclamation project hurts the team. It was already a bit of a long shot but anyone thinking we can still make playoffs is in for a long year.

 

[Redux91]

just in time to score a few goals that bump us out of the Martone sweepstakes!

We're not sniffing Martone this year

But we weren't winning the cup either

Still lots of players to monitor this year, it's not a sunk year by any stretch

 

[Tyson]

There is nobody internally or available externally, that is replacing Laine's potential goals...whether he ended up with 20, 30 or 40.
Losing him even as a reclamation project hurts the team. It was already a bit of a long shot but anyone thinking we can still make playoffs is in for a long year.

A looooong year indeed

 

[Habby4Life]

?????

Kuch, Mack, Mikko, Drai, Connor, Pasta, Matthews, those guys are superstars.

If he is healthy, is somewhat consistent he would be in the tier below these guys. If he is healthy and actually performs. Yeah, very good, superstar, no.

There is nobody internally or available externally, that is replacing Laine's potential goals...whether he ended up with 20, 30 or 40.
Losing him even as a reclamation project hurts the team. It was already a bit of a long shot but anyone thinking we can still make playoffs is in for a long year.

Nailed it.

Healthy he would be in their top 5 and no one outside that comes close to the talent of that group.

Playoffs would be very difficult even he didnt get hurt. Playoff cutoff was 91 points last year, no way this team was going to make a 15 point improvement. However, even missing the playoffs, he would add so much to the team. Solidify second line, help the PP, and on and on. We keep talking about improving, him being healthy and scoring 20, 30 goals would do just that. Saying this is no loss is just bizarre. Guarantee you Habs management think it hurts, I'll bet on that.

 

[Habs]

We're not sniffing Martone this year

But we weren't winning the cup either

Still lots of players to monitor this year, it's not a sunk year by any stretch

Who is going to be worse? We are one key injury from being as bad as the bottom teams from what I can see? I think we are bottom 5 easily?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We're not sniffing Martone this year

But we weren't winning the cup either

Still lots of players to monitor this year, it's not a sunk year by any stretch

Correctamundo!

Give this man a cigar.

 

[Redux91]

Who is going to be worse? We are one key injury from being as bad as the bottom teams from what I can see? I think we are bottom 5 easily?

Tons of teams can get tons of injuries

It's not *just* us lol as much as we like to think that

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Who is going to be worse? We are one key injury from being as bad as the bottom teams from what I can see? I think we are bottom 5 easily?

Injuries can change everything... nobody disputes that.

As is though? With 'normal' injuries? We'll move up into around an 85 point club. Outside the playoffs but we'll improve.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Kuch, Mack, Mikko, Drai, Connor, Pasta, Matthews, those guys are superstars.

If he is healthy, is somewhat consistent he would be in the tier below these guys. If he is healthy and actually performs. Yeah, very good, superstar, no.

48 in 82 in his first games with MSL including half his rookie year. 315 shots last season. Easily superstar potential. He doesn't have to be as good as Matthews to be a superstar. Last year should've been a 50 goal season.

It all comes down to his health.

 

[Habs]

Injuries can change everything... nobody disputes that.

As is though? With 'normal' injuries? We'll move up into around an 85 point club. Outside the playoffs but we'll improve.

I just don't see it with this failure of a PP

Tons of teams can get tons of injuries

It's not *just* us lol as much as we like to think that

well it's mostly us lol

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I just don't see it with this failure of a PP

I think our PP will be better than last year.

Hutson will get some time there. It's going to be a fun year to watch.

well it's mostly us lol

Yeah man... it's insane.

It's time for some other team to take a turn. I've never seen anything like this. And such weird flukey injuries too. Dach's hit last year looked like nothing.

 

[Tyson]

Injuries can change everything... nobody disputes that.

As is though? With 'normal' injuries? We'll move up into around an 85 point club. Outside the playoffs but we'll improve.

85 points is realistic

 

[Habaneros]

Laine done for the year IMHO...

Last year Dach got injured on Saturday ...they waited until Tuesday and announced
he was done for the season.

Laine was injured on Saturday .....will we hear on (Tuesday) he is surgery bound and done.?

Dach stuck around the team as Martin St Louis ask him to join the management pre scout meetings....I will assume Laine will be offered the same type of role to stick around.

Dach went in for operation in Oct .....got back on his skates in Febuary

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

85 points is realistic

Yeah. We might even sniff the playoffs... I don't think we'll make it but we might make it intersesting.

 

[Habby4Life]

48 in 82 in his first games with MSL including half his rookie year. 315 shots last season. Easily superstar potential. He doesn't have to be as good as Matthews to be a superstar. Last year should've been a 50 goal season.

It all comes down to his health.

Should have been a 50 goal season??????

Should have been, no, reality it was 28.

Superstars produce at the guys I mentioned above production rates. CC hasn't and isn't even close to doing so, that is the real world. Superstars dominate the game, put up elite numbers, neither of which CC does.

Hate to break it to you but CC isn't going to be a superstar.

Who is going to be worse? We are one key injury from being as bad as the bottom teams from what I can see? I think we are bottom 5 easily?

Yep, they will get more injuries, and have zero ability to recover.

I will go further, they are bottom 3, and will struggle to come in around 76pts.

 

[Habby4Life]

85 points is realistic

If everything goes to plan, everything.

PP and PK better improve, Monty better stand on his head, and NS eats his wheaties. Not to mention they don't get another long term injury to anyone of the remaining top 4 guys.

It will be a very long year. We will be invested in watching the lottery balls this summer.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Should have been a 50 goal season??????

Should have been, no, reality it was 28.

Superstars produce at the guys I mentioned above production rates. CC hasn't and isn't even close to doing so, that is the real world. Superstars dominate the game, put up elite numbers, neither of which CC does.

Hate to break it to you but CC isn't going to be a superstar.

You asked me about potential - not certainty.

The potential is there without a doubt. The guy set records coming into the league and immediately dominated once he had a decent coach. scoring that much so quickly is awesome. Very few players can do that. Injury is all that limited him from a career year last year. With a normal shooting percentage he'd have been somewhere between 45-53 goals.

It comes down to health. We simply don't know what that shoulder is going to do to him. It SHOULD be better this year but we don't know that it will.

The potential for a superstar is there without a doubt. But health will determine whether or not he can realize that potential. Anyways, this can all go into the CC thread.

 

[waffledave]

Who is going to be worse? We are one key injury from being as bad as the bottom teams from what I can see? I think we are bottom 5 easily?

You expect guys like Suzuki and Caufield and Slaf to take another step forward. The young dmen should also be better and allow fewer goals. To be that is a realistic minimum expectation, and that alone would be enough to push this team above others like Ottawa, Buffalo, Philly, etc...

 

[morhilane]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1840863122875433100

That tweet is basically just listing knee injuries recovery time range...

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If everything goes to plan, everything.

Nonsense.

If everything went right we could make the playoffs. We were second in the league in one goal losses last season. That's another ten points right there and that was without Dach, Hutson and CC's bum shoulder.

I don't think anyone's expecting the playoffs but 85 points is not the ceiling.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I hear their names and i want to puke, im past that sadly

Armia is a fine third liner. We are not the only team that uses third line players on a second line if there are injuries.

 

[Ozmodiar]

You asked me about potential - not certainty.

The potential is there without a doubt. The guy set records coming into the league and immediately dominated once he had a decent coach. scoring that much so quickly is awesome. Very few players can do that. Injury is all that limited him from a career year last year. With a normal shooting percentage he'd have been somewhere between 45-53 goals.

It comes down to health. We simply don't know what that shoulder is going to do to him. It SHOULD be better this year but we don't know that it will.

The potential for a superstar is there without a doubt. But health will determine whether or not he can realize that potential. Anyways, this can all go into the CC thread.

Last I heard he said the shoulder was 100%. That was before camp last season. Was there a setback?

Did he or the team provide an update to the contrary? Usually that would happen after the season.

 

[Habs]

You expect guys like Suzuki and Caufield and Slaf to take another step forward. The young dmen should also be better and allow fewer goals. To be that is a realistic minimum expectation, and that alone would be enough to push this team above others like Ottawa, Buffalo, Philly, etc...

No way we push past the sens and Philly they got much better.

 

[River Meadow]

You expect guys like Suzuki and Caufield and Slaf to take another step forward. The young dmen should also be better and allow fewer goals. To be that is a realistic minimum expectation, and that alone would be enough to push this team above others like Ottawa, Buffalo, Philly, etc...

Yes but those other teams are also getting better as their youngsters develop...

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Last I heard he said the shoulder was 100%. That was before camp last season. Was there a setback?

Did he or the team provide an update to the contrary? Usually that would happen after the season.

Last season they said CC's shoulder was 100 percent too.

The fact is that he's coming off shoulder surgery. Even if you play 82 games, it doesn't mean you're 100 percent.