We are still talking about potential 500G player, potential that is more "real" than for various others of his peers. About that sustainability of his S%. For Laine the first part of his career his shooting percentage was very high, and nothing within that about 2-2.5 year sample indicated his shooting % would be "artificially" too high, as the sample itself in that matter was internally consistent. When the trend ended, it ended in October with 18 goals in few weeks and with insanely high S% from that same period. Then came slump. Slump continued. In Playoffs Patrik performed well. Then came his new contract and new assignments within a team that had meanwhile become a joke, defenseless bubble with non-functional PP. This latter half of his career has been very sad to watch if you're fan of his howitzer shot: its still there but it is weirdly off, meanwhile his overall utilization doesn't support Laine the Sniper as it did before. Still, overall it is easy to see that Laine is playing his best overall game this season. How you really measure that shooting% sustainability when his career is divided to two roughly differing phases, where also eye-test defends the perception. Taking just average doesn't make justice for him, because that would not represent of those shooting 'phases' of him, but on the other hand how he managed to maintain consistency over such long period of time (about 100G in about 200GP) and then suddenly just lose it all?
If people would be just as trigger happy to get rid of Maurice as Patty was in scoring goals, I'm sure Laine would find his aim again. It is in his muscle memory after all.
For commenting about those 'Lemieux' comments, surprisingly Laine has been able to play and score some of his most Lemieuxishque goals and scoring situations this year. Also, most of Lemieux comparisons were related to his occasional, but superficial resemblances of his on ice attire, not exactly to his potential to become comparable player skills-wise. That is now forgotten from the comments ridiculing those already years old Lemieux comparisons.