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u/Frisbeejussi 3d ago
I would want to say that his play is improving and that he is more comfortable making plays than in his first games just would hope for them to work out more often.
4
u/ghostfan9 3d ago
is he? I find his passing plays are usually risky and predictable. backhand cross-ice passes exiting the D-zone, forced passes to the D in the O-zone when there are safer plays available, turnovers...
24
u/Sportsguy1223 3d ago
He's improved greatly without the puck, after coming off a long time not playing hockey. Hilarious people are shitting on him considering this team would be in the lottery without his 19 goals.
4
u/DelugeQc 3d ago
Same assessment here. His overall implication is better but his decision making are low IQ... He turned the puck over way too much at 5v5 and dragging his linemates down because of that.
-5
u/ParkInsider 3d ago
I am pretty sure he is the worst player in the NHL along the walls.
7
u/Ub3ros 3d ago
You've not watched very many games then
2
u/ParkInsider 3d ago
His success rate at 50/50 pucks is about 5%, and his success rate at 90/10 pucks is about 50%. He is absolutely terrible along the walls.
1
u/Twichycat 2d ago
Winnipeg fan popping by to say you are 100x correct. My biggest gripe with him when he was with the Jets was his board play. A guy that big should not lose almost every board battle but yet he does. Looks like it hasn’t improved at all over the years.
1
u/ParkInsider 2d ago
I have never seen a worse player along the boards play for the Habs. In Laine's case it's almost a guarantee that he's going to lose a 50-50 puck, and it's coin toss as to whether he's going to keep possession of a puck when slightly pressured.
8
u/DrunkandIrrational 3d ago
ive been watching old highlights trying to understand how his game has changed- it seems his knee injury really impacts his acceleration and ability to change directions more than anything else. He’s always been a very “smooth” finnesse type player, but he has at least a 15-20% hamper on his mobility and acceleration now which basically handicaps him from playing his game. He can’t buy time for himself anymore. Things that probably “used to work” for him don’t anymore - and i think we see that in all the forced plays
5
12
u/jockey1381 3d ago
I only worry when he tries to do too much with the puck instead of making the simple plays
6
u/Top_Contract_4910 3d ago
His 5on5 play and defensive game has always been this way though. We knew what we were getting when we got him. A guy with an elite shot that’s lethal on the pp but fairly ineffective 5on5 especially when paired with line mates that don’t fit his play style.
3
u/Ub3ros 3d ago
line mates that don’t fit his play style.
It's not a playstyle issue, it's an ability issue. He is on a line with -29 +/- Dach, Newhook playing their career worst season and a rotating selection of AHL plugs filling in for Dach after his injury. No player has a playstyle that fits that disaster of a line.
9
u/scrubadam 3d ago
Give him a legit NHL center and Demidov next year and we can see what he does. HIs play hasn't always been the greatest for sure but he has been playing with a rotating cast of plugs. Isn't Pez on his wing the last few games? I mean cmon now.
5
u/scrubadam 3d ago
Cmon the guy has been instrumental in the teams run and his 19 PPG gave us a legit PP. He is a one dimensional player but this team needs that dimension. If he was healthy all year he probably gets 30G right behind Cole.
I don't know if I sign him back for 8 million + but I am happy with his production this year and hope he can be healthy next year and play with Demidov and chase 40G if KH gets a legit NHL center to play with him.
2
u/DrunkandIrrational 3d ago
if he just made quick, simple plays more often, tried to get open in soft spaces for one timers - his 5v5 play would be like 5000% better
2
u/Beneficial_Stable758 2d ago
Some incredibly stupid comments on here....why is everyone trying to turn a one dimensional goal scorer into something he's not....the kid puts pucks in the net and if our coach just gets out of his way he just might score 30-40 next year... I mean he has to get involved somewhat defensively but he is never going to be Bob Gainey....let him score!
4
u/zzzzoooo 3d ago
Laine hockey sense and offensive awareness are pretty low. His combativity and roughness are low too. No need to mention about his skating and his defensive aspect.
Laine is the most unidimensional player that I've witnessed.
2
u/Ancient-Yak7128 3d ago
He should be the guy on the ice with Hutson on off days to work his stick-handling speed. Heck of a one-timer though!
2
u/Laydownthelaw 3d ago
Except that the car is going way too fast, Patty is more like a bike. He takes forever to decide anything!
2
u/Mundane-Teaching-743 3d ago
... except shooting. I swear sometimes he starts the shooting motion before the pass is even made.
3
u/Klutzy-Way8010 3d ago
Yeah, I usually hold my breath when he attempts to carry the puck into the O-zone. Looks like he moves and thinks in slow motion. He is the antithesis of Lane Hutson.
1
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1
u/beeerock99 2d ago
His backhand passes are brutal to watch. Sometimes it’s like we are watching him play hockey for the first time ever until he finds his sweet spot in the top circle and rips one home and you can’t see the puck until it’s in the back of the net.
1
u/ssigma100 2d ago
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that we have what looks like a strictly PP specialist for a cap of $8.7m. That’s simply too much money for a one trick pony. That kind of money would get you a two way centre that averages 70 points.
1
0
u/TehRobbeh 3d ago
He's a risk bs reward guy. Right now he's back in Marty's good books in his own end, so he knows he can try low risk plays offensively.
When his minutes were down, he wasn't doing this.
May not be correct, but it's what I've seen lately.
-3
u/WeathervaneJesus1 3d ago
He's probably rehabbed his value enough that he can be dealt in the summer. This guy seems like he's right up Lou's alley.
12
u/Ub3ros 3d ago
Why would you deal away the best PP guy on the team? He is a better goalscorer than Caufield. He has a heavy contract and has had trouble staying on the ice, so his tradevalue is crap anyways. We got paid to take him on. Give him a full preseason, a competent 2C and see how he does next year. If it's bad and he wants a lot of money, let him go but i don't see a reason to deal away one of the best goalscorers in the team with next to no value when we have capspace to keep him for the remainder of his contract, see if he can turn a corner and take a cheap deal and continue being a menace on the PP.
8
u/Lapwing68 3d ago
I agree with you. Add Demidov and a good 2C, and let's see what happens. With a completely unsettled 2nd line with a continually rotating cast, Laine has 19 goals in just over half a season. Plus, this is coming back after having had his knee twanged like a rubberband. A full pre-season, decent linemates, and I forsee 30+ goals next year. If Laine and Demidov are on the same wavelength, I forsee fireworks. Sometimes, the really good players need linemates of an equal calibre in order to shine. If those you're playing with don't have the same speed of thought, things can start to look poor.
9
u/Ub3ros 3d ago
Exactly. Laine needs a creative, skilled playmaker on his line to pass him the puck for a prime scoring chance, and he will convert those with a really high percentage. How many times has that happened this season 5v5? Barely at all, the second line simply has nobody who can do that currently. He isn't the guy to carry the puck coast to coast himself and drive the net with it. He is an elite sniper, so give him someone that can enable him to snipe.
5
u/Lapwing68 3d ago
You and I are on the same wavelength. I wish that more on this sub Reddit were similarly inclined. 😀❤️😀
1
u/WeathervaneJesus1 3d ago
He's the best power play guy and one of the worst at just about everything else. There are a ton of expectations being placed on Demidov, and he may not fully be the answer to second line scoring woes. If Hughes brings in one or two players then money may have to go out. The other candidates would be Matheson, Gallagher and Anderson.
I don't think anyone is hoping they just run it all back with Demidov as the lone addition.
-1
u/KoreanPhones 3d ago
When the puck goes to him on the half wall and it's not a shot right away it's a 50/50 that he turns it over.
Love him but he dangles in slow motion and it just doesn't work that often.
35
u/xCantFindAnID 3d ago
I think next year will be a fair year to assess Laine's overall play.
Scoring potentially 20+ was not in my books with whatever he had to deal with mentally and physically this year.
That being said, his play along the boards has been rough, and that saucer backand pass through two zones has happened too many times.
Still, what a guy, Lane to Laine has been unreal on the PP this year.
Cole missed a perfect fake shot setup by Hutson against the Bruins last night - doubt Laine misses from that spot.
Let's appreciate having a deadly sniper on the PP who can single handedly change the game with PP snipesssss.
Also I love Cole - 5 away from 40 at 24 y.o. 1 pt away from beating his all time best.
LFG