Rumor: The All Encompassing Patrik Laine Thread (it’s happening!!)

[waitin425]

"Make a play, for Laine"

 

[salbutera]

Could Habs / CBJ have a deal in place but wait till after season opener post Price transfer to LTIR then using up $8M of $19M space?

 

[sampollock]

Next year, our top 6 should be building on Demidov, Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky and Dach.
That's 5 out of 6 spots....only one left. Dach will have his shooter in 12 months no matter what.

And Newhook was on pace for a 22 goals season as a 22 years old last year.
Caufield just put up a 28 goals season as a 22 years old.

They both have still a whole lot of room to grow.

You make good sense

 

[26Mats]

Next year, our top 6 should be building on Demidov, Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky and Dach.
That's 5 out of 6 spots....only one left. Dach will have his shooter in 12 months no matter what.

And Newhook was on pace for a 22 goals season as a 22 years old last year.
Caufield just put up a 28 goals season as a 22 years old.

They both have still a whole lot of room to grow.

Cc - Suzuki - Slaf
Demidov - Dach - Laine
Roy - Beck/Kapanen - Newhook

 

[Sorinth]

No one would want Norris. He will never be healthy.

Well Laine isn't a picture of health either, it's a gamble but he did play 50 games and put up ok numbers which was much better then Laine's games played and ppg. If the offers on the table Harris and a 3rd pick then I'm not sure why Columbus wouldn't prefer to gamble on Norris.

 

[Sorinth]

Sure you can, just put crazy conditions on it just like Calgary did.

But they pretty much always lead to an unprotected pick, for example I think it was possible for that Calgary 1st to be an unprotected 2026 1st round pick. So unless the conditions are that it turns into some 2nd round picks then it's not going to happen.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

I think Montreal would be the worst place for Laine of any team he could get traded to, the Media and the portion of our fans that are absolute idiots would drive him back into the PAP so no point giving up assets for him and for his sake hope he goes somewhere else

 

[Habs Halifax]

Not to overrate them, but I think you're underestimating the dearth of RD if you think every team has a Barron.

Agreed! I always disliked the “every team has them” comment. It’s weak but certainly an off the shelf reply used far too often. It’s 100% incorrect and grouping the 3 players in the same sentence is the first mistake! Ignorance

 

[sampollock]

I think Montreal would be the worst place for Laine of any team he could get traded to, the Media and the portion of our fans that are absolute idiots would drive him back into the PAP so no point giving up assets for him and for his sake hope he goes somewhere else

Maybe
The fans on here are ripping him

 

[WG]

For a board that (rightfully) obliterated Bergevin for being a BargainBin, a lot of you guys are kind of the same lol. It's like clockwork from O'Reilly down. If there's a big name available, this board always talks itself in circle as to why we should be scared shitless to try and trade anything of value for them. It's kind of funny.

I wouldn't give the slightest f*** about trading Florida's 1st for Laine if it gets it done. I'd rather give a weapon to Dach.

Difference being where Montreal sits in their competitive window. When the team had God-mode Price, trading 20-30 OV picks and the substandard 'prospects' that Timmins et al collected was easily worth it to add to a team that needed the help to get over the top. But alas, MB thought that trading 4th rounders for Dwight King was good enough.

Montreal won't win the cup this year, so adding Laine isn't an urgent need, but if they are going to progress, adding a top 6 forward with only a 2-year commitment is appealing, vs going 4-5-6 yrs on UFAs this year. As you say, he'd help Dach and the roster as a whole.

But it isn't Florida's first just yet. Calgary might be bad but it's not hard to conceive of a scenario where they are in the mushy middle and Montreal gets the Calgary pick. Would you trade 12 OV for Laine?

I'm fine taking Laine for middling assets at full cap hit, the team doesn't desperately need the cap space this year or next. One of the 2nds and a Harris type doesn't hurt. That's the stick KH can use moreso than other suitors, if Waddell is dead set on clearing PL's salary and not being stuck with two years of retained salary.

And who knows, maybe Laine recovers his form and KH has bought himself a 30G winger for not much.

 

[WG]

I think Montreal would be the worst place for Laine of any team he could get traded to, the Media and the portion of our fans that are absolute idiots would drive him back into the PAP so no point giving up assets for him and for his sake hope he goes somewhere else

Fans showed a tremendous amount of respect for Drouin when he went out, despite everything that came before. And they have infinite patience when legitimate star talent is involved (see: the brief love-in with Kovalchuk). Not wishcasting, I think the Montreal media and fanbase would be very respectful of whatever Laine is going through and would appreciate having a potential high end talent on board.

 

[le_sean]

Maybe
The fans on here are ripping him

I don’t want him but I’ll definitely back him 100% if he somehow ends up here.

 

[Rapala]

I don’t want him but I’ll definitely back him 100% if he somehow ends up here.

As would most of us.

 

[WentWughes]

Surprised how many people are not interest at all. A player that has been close to a point per game 2 of the last 3 seasons and has a top 5 shot in the league. This is the definition of a worth while gamble, only signed for two more years and likely will not have to part ways with premium assets to acquire him. This is a low risk, high reward move for me as long as the price being asked is not too high. Best case you get a star 40 goal scorer at a discount, worse case is he flops and you let him walk in two years, not to mention he is only 26 and could be a part of the long term core if it pans out. This could be an excellent buy low opportunity with very minimal downside as long as the price tag is reasonable, I would be ok with every deal listed in the poll but preferably if we are parted ways with a dman Harris would be the one to walk.

 

[Kojo]

He's only 26 years old but his contract is for 8.7m that should disqualify him right-away. Next.

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

He's only 26 years old but his contract is for 8.7m that should disqualify him right-away. Next.

Only 2 years left on his deal and we're about to swim in cap space, his salary is irrelevant from a Habs perspective. Low risk potentially very high reward.

 

[26Mats]

Well Laine isn't a picture of health either, it's a gamble but he did play 50 games and put up ok numbers which was much better then Laine's games played and ppg. If the offers on the table Harris and a 3rd pick then I'm not sure why Columbus wouldn't prefer to gamble on Norris.

I think the offers on the table will be much better than Harris and a 3rd.

 

[ReHabs]

Would you trade 12 OV for Laine?

What did you think of the Dach acquisition?

I don’t want him but I’ll definitely back him 100% if he somehow ends up here.

Oh you’ll stop calling him an overrated headcase with bad character and poor professionalism?

 

[yianik]

I think the offers on the table will be much better than Harris and a 3rd.

What narrows the interested parties is the ability to not need any retention.

 

[sandviper]

Harris or Barron… prefer Barron moved, and a 2nd is my vote.

 

[26Mats]

Harris or Barron… prefer Barron moved, and a 2nd is my vote.

Laine's numbers have been very up and down the last 6 seasons.

Is it due to injuries? Have the injuries permanently slowed him down? Can he stay healthy in the future? A lot of question marks.

 

[Beendair Donedat]

Hard pass on Laine from this poster, unless it’s a deal for nickels on the dollar. Too much risk (salary cap and injuries) for too little reward.

I’d much rather target McGroarty, and make that deal happen with the Jets. I think it would be addressing a need with a player that can grow and become part of the core forward group moving forward.

 

[Deus ex machina]

I was watching the DFO Rundown podcast from this week and they basically said that Laine has no value at this point.
That Waddell was probably gonna have to retain 50% to trade him.
Gregor even said that, talking to people around the NHL, they think that if Laine wants to get a fresh start elsewhere, he should just terminate his contract.
They both agreed that Laine wasn't going to do that but it would be more fair for Colombus if he did because he's putting them in a bad spot.

So no, they're not gonna get 3-4 pieces, including a 1st, for him.

 

[Tyson]

I was watching the DFO Rundown podcast from this week and they basically said that Laine has no value at this point.
That Waddell was probably gonna have to retain 50% to trade him.
Gregor even said that, talking to people around the NHL, they think that if Laine wants to get a fresh start elsewhere, he should just terminate his contract.
They both agreed that Laine wasn't going to do that but it would be more fair for Colombus if he did because he's putting them in a bad spot.

So no, they're not gonna get 3-4 pieces, including a 1st, for him.

% salary dump is all this is about.

 

[ReHabs]

Hard pass on Laine from this poster, unless it’s a deal for nickels on the dollar. Too much risk (salary cap and injuries) for too little reward.

I’d much rather target McGroarty, and make that deal happen with the Jets. I think it would be addressing a need with a player that can grow and become part of the core forward group moving forward.

I think McGroarty is very interesting too but Laine would be cheaper to acquire (perhaps even nickles on the dollar, if you consider Laine's maximal value would be astronomical). The risk isn't cap space as much as it is opportunity cost... but there isn't really another option out there that fits the risk/reward structure of Laine.

If we had to give multiple 1st rounders, then of course you forget it and move on. If we had to give Reinbacher or Hage, hang up the phone. But if it's one of our many middling d-men and a 2nd round pick... I dunno, I think it's worth the risk.