I don't think he was ever as good as people thought. He has good hands (heck, might be even great) and elite shot arsenal. Especially his wrister and slap shot are world class.
But his movement is sub-par and his conditioning was poor. He wasn't able to utilize his strengths and his weaknesses were on display. He also had insane amount of injuries and other mental problems.
I think he can still rebound and be an effective scoring winger. I definitely could see him potting few 40 + 40 seasons still. Just needs to stay healthy.
For newer HFBoards members, Laine has quite insane cult following from Finland when he was younger. As a fellow Finn, when I suggested that he might not be able to break Selanne's season and career records I got basically jumped by his online-managers. And I wasn't even being obnoxious about it, just pointed out that development is not always linear and Laine has some weak spots in his game.
"I don't think he was ever as good as people thought." I agree
He's a above average player that has a good shot and good hands and can put up 30-40 something goals a season, can put up 30-40 something assist a season, and can produce just under or a point per game.
"He also had insane amount of injuries and other mental problems." He never had career altering or career ending injuries and the mental health problems didnt come till later most probably after his dad died which was in 2021 when he was with the blue jackets and his fall off started before then.
"his conditioning was poor" How was his conditioning poor?
"He wasn't able to utilize his strengths" he was able utilize his strengths especially on the powerplay where he used his one-tee.
"But his movement is sub-par" He wasnt a fast skater
"his weaknesses were on display" name some of his weakness
"I think he can still rebound and be an effective scoring winger. I definitely could see him potting few 40 + 40 seasons still." I agree