Transferred to Montreal in the summer Patrik Laine for those dreaming of returning to the NHL elite, it was easy to set one clear risk factor in advance: would the winger positions last?
After his years in Winnipeg, Laine has drifted into an extremely heavy injury cycle. There have been abdominal muscle injuries, elbow and collar bone injuries, ankle injuries, corona infection and so on.
Last winter, Laine joined the NHL’s treatment program, from which he only returned in the summer. The purpose of the treatment program is to help players suffering from mental health, substance abuse or other problems. It is undeniable that constant injuries have put a big brake on the Tampere player’s career.
Lainee’s last full season was six years ago.
Laine has lost almost 40 percent of all games since autumn 2019.
Against this background, the worst nightmare came true early Sunday morning in a practice match against Toronto. of Toronto Cedric Pare tackled Laine in the knee near Montreal’s offensive blue line, with the result that Laine had to be tackled from the rink and did not return to the game.
The tackle didn’t seem particularly outrageous or intentional, but Laine, who crossed the blue line in a wide crotch position, twisted his knee in a really bad way. However, it is pointless to start giving diagnoses from this side of the Atlantic.
Laine better cross her arms about her leg.
Nightmarish
Almost any length of sick leave is an almost complete nightmare for Patrik Laine’s return dreams. Even if the man from Tampere could make it back to the rink in a few weeks, that too will be out of training, which the attacker, who recovered from a shoulder injury during the treatment program, is just getting to the taste of.
In Laine’s case, there would be no time to waste, because the foundations of physics are by no means cast in concrete after the two really broken previous years. A more serious knee injury would dangerously destroy the view even further to the horizon.
Laine would badly need clean papers from his knee. After all the difficulties, the stakes are huge for this NHL career.
In the worst case, the whole season could be in the package, which would be a crushing sentence for Lainee. Below are four terrible years in Columbus, during which the Tappara breeder’s NHL stock plunged to near bottom readings – despite reasonable performances in themselves. At the same time, the player’s self-confidence and his entire career plummeted to the basement floors.
The game didn’t go well, the player felt bad and the whole house of cards collapsed.
When Columbus finally moved Laine to Montreal, there was virtually no resale value left.
Laine didn’t even have time to start the reconstruction project of the house of cards in Montreal, when even the first pieces sketched in place collapsed under Pare’s tackle.
Unbelievable hulabaloo
Laine’s first steps in Montreal have been colorful anyway. Of course, it was clear from the beginning that Laine’s every move would be followed with a magnifying glass, but the huge hula baloo around the Tampere native already during the training season has raised eyebrows.
Already in the first training match, one longer drive that led nowhere made the home crowd howl and gasp.
And to get the moped properly on the side of the bench, the head coach Martin St. Louis went after the match to compare Laine to the Canadiens legend to Guy Lafleur.
Laine’s tachometer screams red, even though not a single game of the regular season has been played.
Especially in the case of Laine, this is a significant issue. It’s not just any club transfer, but almost the last attempt of a player whose career has been completely sidetracked to return to the elite of the world’s toughest hockey league.
The pressures are shockingly hard, even inhumane, when you take into account the events of the previous years. There has been talk of 40 goals, there has been talk of 50 goals and the expectations of the player himself are not low either.
The Lätkä community in Montreal has welcomed Laine with open arms and in many places, including the media, there has been a desire to give a positive report about the Finn’s first turns in the city. The expression is fresh, a smile on the lips and the leg is fine.
Although the reports are positive and the people initially have good will, the truth will only come out later. As long as Laine recovers to playing condition. For a player of Laine’s level, showing up to the advantage in yard game-paced training matches means nothing. The opponent may play with their second team and so on.
If Laine’s leg works and the look is still fresh in December-January, the first positive line bets can be made regarding a return to the top. The NHL’s Regular Series is a merciless marathon of 82 games, and you can’t survive it, at least in the role of a top player, without tough physical levels.
It should be clear that after the previous two years, Patrik Laine is nowhere near in such shape with skating or physics that he could play 20 minutes in the evening in the role of a profit unit. Even against this, Sunday’s knee injury came in a scary gap. Each week away from real activities increases the back distance in terms of physics.
Laine couldn’t do anything about her latest injury, but it’s cold and even a bit disgusting raw realism that even this setback is especially hard for Laine because of the choices she made herself. Laine has been injured a lot for reasons beyond his control, but at the same time you can ask, has this beaten everything from the point of view of training and top sports during the NHL years?
If and when homework was already overdue, new setbacks come more easily and they are always more difficult.
Maybe it’s not too late, but a more serious knee injury to this seam would make the journey back a very long one.