Couldn’t surprise Patrik Laine player trade to Montreal.
The legendary Canadian club was one of Lainee’s potential targets, not only because of its athletic status but also because of the oxygen found under the salary cap. If anyone raised eyebrows, it was the decrease in the value of the Finnish player on the market. Columbus was willing to give Montreal a second-round pick just to get rid of Lainee and his contract.
In exchange, Columbus himself received a basic defenseman and freed space on the salary cap.
Katoavais is a worldly honor even for a player like Patrik Laine, who seven years ago finished second in the goal exchange of the Taala League.
Immediately after the player trade, the classic pink sports talk began.
Speaking to the North American media, Laine said that after the shoulder injury and the NHL treatment program, he is in excellent shape both on and off the rink. The man from Tampere, known for his shot, even stated that he doesn’t want to return to the NHL as a player with twenty, but forty or fifty goals.
Laine has always liked pressure situations, so the Finn is not afraid of an intense fan who operates in two languages and a media man, on the contrary.
The club management, of course, asserted their faith in the new arrival of the Finnish player. Even though Laine hasn’t been able to play a full season in six years due to injuries, or break the 30-goal mark in five years, the stove was hit hard. GM Kent Hughes even teased, calling the 26-year-old Laine a veteran player capable of bringing leadership to a young team.
All of the above is possible.
Although Patrik Laine has beautified his statistics in recent years mostly in meaningless spring matches, it is quite possible that in the new environment the network will start to dust off the old model. This possibility can never be ruled out for a Tesoman. The Montreal Pilot Martin St. Louis has collected a lot of incense from his players. If a common note is also found with Laine, the Finn’s stock can rise quickly.
There is young talent in Montreal, but in an overall weaker team, Laine will get playing time and superior responsibility. In this respect, the trade to the Canadiens was a good thing for Laine’s career.
The reality is waiting
However, everyday reality lurks behind the pink optimism. It means that no one in the world knows what the Tappara breeder is allowed to expect from the upcoming season.
Laine is a lottery ticket worth 8.75 million yen for the next two seasons. We are talking about a really expensive lottery even at the NHL level.
It would be easy to jump on the optimist bandwagon, but raw realism has its reasons.
Who remembers a year ago?
Also at that time, Lainea had everything better than ever and behind the bench was a familiar coach from Winnipeg, with whom the union was supposed to be the best ever. Laine’s leadership qualities and commitment have been talked about several times, but only burning ruins have been left behind. First Laine wanted out of Winnipeg, then Columbus.
Fresh Columbus GM by Don Waddell according to the last season, “one thing and another” happened in the dressing room.
Laine’s game problems, a kind of laxity and lack of discipline are fresh in many people’s minds.
Has Finnish skating developed and how is the physics side? It’s good to remember that Laine has suffered from repeated injuries in recent years, and the summer of 2023 was apparently not bad in terms of training. Has he taken a step back during the NHL treatment program?
Laine is known for her self-confidence, her sense of humor and her supliik. However, the cold fact is that genuine self-confidence is built through physics. The modern NHL game also requires that. Is Laine in such a physical condition that he can run through the 82-match regular season scoring 40-50 goals? The truth comes out quickly.
Montreal raise or sink
In the end, it’s hard to say whether the trade to Montreal was a good or bad thing for Lainee.
In sports, you know how to say the right things on the threshold of a new beginning, and Laine knows that game well. When things have gone off the rails, however, the aftermath has tended to be ugly. Is something fundamentally better now?
Montreal is a fascinating city because if Laine’s game takes off, the community will really put him on a pedestal. If the game doesn’t go well, criticism starts to rain and the expensive contract is repeatedly reminded on different media platforms in two languages.
The sled is going downhill at a fast pace if it doesn’t work.
Perhaps it is precisely because of all the unpredictability that Patrik Laine’s story fascinates. The whole hockey world has seen how good a player Patrik Laine can be. It has also seen how far Laine has sunk from his best level at worst. At the same time, the demands of the NHL game have gone in a different direction with Laine’s strengths, always raising the bar.
Laine’s return to the front line would be a fantastic feel-good story, but it’s hard to invest heavily in advance after everything.