Canadiens legend Saku Koivu was very happy to hear the name of Patrik Laine’s new employer. The last time a Montreal player scored 40 goals in the regular season was in the 1993-94 season.
Patrik Laine new employer Montreal Canadiens is the world’s most famous hockey club of all time, 24-time winner of the Stanley Cup and the previous organization that brought the trophy to Canada (1993).
For a player, Montreal can be heaven or hell, and no Finn knows more or even as much about this element as Saku Koivu49. The center legend represented Montreal from 1995-2004 and 2005-2009 and was the captain of the Canadiens for nine seasons.
When the club is the most successful of all time in North America, it means that even a player with superstar status or potential like Laine doesn’t get everything he wants.
– It seems that “Patella” is facing a number change, laughed Koivu in an interview with Urheilu on Tuesday.
His standard number 29 belonged to the goalkeeper greatness of Montreal folklore at the time To Ken Drydenand it is no longer used by anyone else in the company.
“Not the first”
– Pate is not the first really tough player to come to Montreal and this happens to him, says Koivu, who, when he arrived in the French-speaking province of Quebec in 1995, was allowed to keep his TPS number 11.
Koivu says that he is very happy that Laine ended up in a club that is particularly meaningful to Turku. There, he will have the opportunity to make a brand new start to his motley NHL career. Koivu had no prior information about the player trade.
– The resulting situation is an advantage and an opportunity for everyone. Laine’s world-class shot and scoring ability have not disappeared anywhere. Now we have to find the right level of self-confidence and mental alertness through successes and get the right players alongside as radar pairs. At his best, he is without a doubt an elite goal scorer in the NHL.
The history of the club naturally creates eternal and, considering the player material, unrealistic expectations in a city where the relative importance of one’s own club to the community is the greatest in the hockey world. When an individual’s or team’s game is not going well, this easily turns into a burden. For example, in terms of media and fan pressure, Columbus was an easy place for Lainee compared to Montreal, which was last in the Stanley Cup finals in the 2020-21 corona season.
A unique connection
– In professional sports, you just have to deal with the pressure. It is important to be able to separate the civilian persona from the player persona in weaker moments. Montreal is a fantastic city and a sports city that shows immense respect for the players, but also demands respect for itself. The connection between the club, the players and the city is absolutely unique, Koivu describes.
Adding to this are the player legends of the past years, who are a big part of the community and match events, even from beyond the grave.
Koivu states that he is very confident that Montreal will quickly fall in love with Laine and the winger with the city.
If Lainee can find a center forward with the ability to feed and the time of superiority and he gets into the goal-scoring mood of his past years, at least the ability to score is something that is needed in Montreal. Here is a very special, telling fact from the statistics.
A special detail
Previous 40 goals in the regular season or more Montreal player is one of the 1992-92 Stanley Cup heroes Vincent Damphousseexactly 40 cabinets in the 1993-94 season.
In the 1998-99 season, the Canadiens internal goal exchange has been won by a Czech at its lowest point. Martin Rucinsky with only 17 goals.
– It can tell about the material being played more evenly than the NHL norm, but of course also about the fact that there just haven’t been better goal scorers, says Koivu.
Now at least the blank of such a goal scorer arrives in the city.