Player Discussion: Patrik Laine - MOD WARNING IN OP

[Ippenator]

He really needs to visit a barbershop though, somebody should tell him.

It’s about a bet and not about looks. I don’t think he even cares that much about how he really looks like. Not all people are too much into that stuff.

 

[21]

It’s about a bet and not about looks. I don’t think he even cares that much about how he really looks like. Not all people are too much into that stuff.

Ok, maybe he is trying to break some kind of record because it is awful, I assume he will win this bet by a large margin.

 

[Ippenator]

Ok, maybe he is trying to break some kind of record because it is awful, I assume he will win this bet by a large margin.

But that would be also about looks. Just reversed way...

He just has a bet with his cousin, about if he will grow his beard through the whole season.

 

[grieves]

Also there is a correlation between Jets' success and Laine growing a beard. I wouldn't touch it and I bet he wouldn't either.

 

[21]

I think so too. Another reason might be Laine's personality that divides people. In Finland there is a culture where you are not supposed to stick out or – god forbid – say it out loud how good you think you are. I have many Finnish friends who don't like his attitude, which is sad because it is one of Laine's traits that make him a star caliber player.

Are you talking about the law of jante? We are pretty good following this law in Sweden too. ;-)
Law of Jante - Wikipedia

 

[1OApick]

I'm really surprised some Finnish fans not ranking Laine higher than 5 among Finnish talents/players, some fans ranking Barkov, Granlund, Aho and Rantanen ahead of Laine. Reading comments that Laine us too slow/lazy and causes too much turnovers? I would love to hear the view from Canadian Winnipeg Jets fans on this.

The only one I could possibly rank ahead of Laine myself is Barkov but not as a pure goal scorer/sniper.

It's a bit confusing and I suspect some Finnish fans still may be upset on Laine for not participating in last years hockey world championship? (I doubt they would admit this themselves though).

Well Barkov is clearly beat at the moment. But Laine is second best finn right now. And I have no doubt that Laine wouldnt be the best maybe next season already.

 

[RageQuit77]

The ten rules state:

1. You're not to think you are anything special.
2. You're not to think you are as good as we are.
3. You're not to think you are smarter than we are.
4. You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.
5. You're not to think you know more than we do.
6. You're not to think you are more important than we are.
7. You're not to think you are good at anything.
8. You're not to laugh at us.
9. You're not to think anyone cares about you.
10. You're not to think you can teach us anything.

Corrections and conclusions to Jante's law:

1. Laine is special and he knows it.
2. He is better than we are in what he does.
3. He is smarter than we are in what he does.
4. He knows he is better than we are in what he does.
5. He knows more then we do about his profession.
6. He is more important for Jets, than anyone of us, and he knows it.
7. He knows that is pure BS statement, knowing he is good in what he does.
8. He can laugh to himself, thus being able to laugh for others.
9. He knows a lot of people cares about him, and he tries act accordingly.
10. Hell yes he can teach us anything. He can teach things about hockey to other NHL-hockey players. At least.

 

[Kratti]

Well Barkov is clearly beat at the moment. But Laine is second best finn right now. And I have no doubt that Laine wouldnt be the best maybe next season already.

In no world is Laine better a 5 on 5 player than Aho, Rantanen or Granlund, just watch a few games and see all those boys doing things Laine cannot (yet) accomplish 5 on 5. And all four are bonafide first liners in the NHL, even on a contender. Laine is not. Powerplay is another matter though, Laine is already an elite PP specialist.

 

[RageQuit77]

"Powerplay is another matter though, Laine is already an elite PP specialist."

That can be backed up by stats, but also with statements of opposing goalies. How PK-players behave is further proof he is considered 'Elite' by his peers, and coaches all across the league. His yet relatively short career goal-scoring highlight reel is probably most astonishing by any sniper in last two seasons, let alone young guy under 20yo produced in few last decades... especially it's PP-chapter. Clinical chain of executions of explosive high accuracy long distance bardownskies almost fearful to watch.

 

[grieves]

Sure he has a lot to improve, but hockey is more than just individual effort in whatever line you feel like putting together.

Laine was damn close to three point night on Sunday. Just give it time and watch the fireworks.

Laine has a generational shot, elite passing, elite vision, huge size and reach, elite IQ. He lacks in speed and agility, and he's not strong in board battles yet (improving rapidly). He's gonna be a monster though.

 

[Insthofen]

Talentwise I rate him higher than any finnish player, includin Teemu. But right now Rantanen, Barkov and Granlund are better players. I expect him to surpass everyone else, except Barkov, but it's difficult to compare them, center and winger.

 

[21]

Talentwise I rate him higher than any finnish player, includin Teemu. But right now Rantanen, Barkov and Granlund are better players. I expect him to surpass everyone else, except Barkov, but it's difficult to compare them, center and winger.

Laine is already a better goalscorer than the players you are mentioning which is rather impressive, goal scoring is a good thing in hockey but I do understand your point.

 

[PhilJets]

W

As great as it would be, lets be realistic here. Laine plays and skates in third line and gets minutes accordingly. .

Laine goal scoring pace since he began his career. He should get around 9 -10 more goals in 23 games barring injury.

That is realistic projection.

13 goals might be tough BUT that is the reason you cheer for the kid. Laine is also due for a hat trick.

He trying to accomplish not many teenagers have done in the history of the league.
He is chading Kovalchuk, Stamkos, Crosby Hawerchuks under 20 goal productions.

For Jets 8th best forward and 5th best Fin.

He is not doing to bad then?

If you believe Laine and Ehlers are in the 3rd line because of their bad play. Its not.
Its more on spreading the lines.

Would you rathet have

Connot Copp Roslovic on the 3rd line
Or Laine Copp Ehlers? 27 & 29 have proven more.

Also style of play.

Also don't expect your 2 leading goal scorers to be in the 3rd line til end of the year.

But id be ok with them in the 3rd line as not many teams can match jets top 3 lines.

The 3rd line accounts for 28% of the Jets goal.
Thats insane.

 

[PhilJets]

Laine is already a better goalscorer than the players you are mentioning which is rather impressive, goal scoring is a good thing in hockey but I do understand your point.

Laine is not bad 5on5 also but as always great goal scorers get type cast.

 

[Halberdier]

Laine will sign a long-term (6-8yr) deal this summer for 6-8M AAV. Book it.

There is no way he is getting nor wanting to go double digits. A couple of millions more won't make a difference for his non-hockey life, but less will make wonders for his hockey life. Let me remind you, this is a kid whose only passion is winning. And he knows very well that there is no way to win a Cup if he goes overboard with his salary demands.

His agent may have a different opinion, but I believe that Laine will hold enough power in his hands to keep him in check. Besides, his agent could hit quite impressive numbers in hourly wage:

Chevy: "So, what kind of deal is Mr. Laine willing to negotiate on?"

Agent: "I have a contract form here. It's an 8yr deal, 6.5M AAV, 8-team NTC."

Chevy:

I agree with your reasoning, but 6.5 millions is just way too low number. Way too low.

I guess Laine wants the contract with the Jets and will give quite nice discount for that, but 6.5 would be out of the question. Given that he is willing to give that discount it will not be double digits, but I'm surprised if he signs for considerably less than 8 million.

People still do not realize that he is 19 and he is already doing something almost unprecedented for that age. Had he played with Scheifele this season everyone could see that already. It's already a miracle that he is leading the league with PP goals given that he rarely gets those shooting opportunities and that in PP1 Laine is only 4th (after Wheeler, Buff, Scheif in that order) in "pecking order" and that shows in amount of scoring chances they are getting.

If Wheeler, Scheif and Buff were on par with their goal scoring ability, they should have more PP goals than Laine this season, but they have a lot less.

I know that Barkov went even for less than 6M (5.9M), but he has had injuries and until recently his point production was not top notch. Laine had 5 more points on his rookie season than Barkov on his best season so far. And still Barkov went really cheap even during signing let alone hindsight.

 

[Psych0dad]

Uh because we don't have the defensive depth. We don't have Laine ehler, Connor, Perrault, wheeler will all pick up the scoring. We don't have Trouba we are forced to play Buff or Myers first unit.
If you mean why would we need to choose I don't know I thre out a dumb theoretical.

We obviously have a VERY different understanding of how much goals are worth in the game.

 

[DaJackal]

I agree with your reasoning, but 6.5 millions is just way too low number. Way too low.

I guess Laine wants the contract with the Jets and will give quite nice discount for that, but 6.5 would be out of the question. Given that he is willing to give that discount it will not be double digits, but I'm surprised if he signs for considerably less than 8 million.

People still do not realize that he is 19 and he is already doing something almost unprecedented for that age. Had he played with Scheifele this season everyone could see that already. It's already a miracle that he is leading the league with PP goals given that he rarely gets those shooting opportunities and that in PP1 Laine is only 4th (after Wheeler, Buff, Scheif in that order) in "pecking order" and that shows in amount of scoring chances they are getting.

If Wheeler, Scheif and Buff were on par with their goal scoring ability, they should have more PP goals than Laine this season, but they have a lot less.

I know that Barkov went even for less than 6M (5.9M), but he has had injuries and until recently his point production was not top notch. Laine had 5 more points on his rookie season than Barkov on his best season so far. And still Barkov went really cheap even during signing let alone hindsight.

I agree. That's exactly what I meant by implying that a 6.5M contract would be signed in a heartbeat.

That said:

Scheifele 6.125
Wheeler 5.6
Little 5.3
Ehlers 6.0
Buff 7.6

I don't think he will demand Buff type of money or more that that when all his forward peers are close to 6. My guess is 8yrs x 7M plus minus 1M depending on other factors (agent greediness and playoff performance being the biggest ones).

 

[Aavco Cup]

 

[Psych0dad]

He would probably be fine with 7-8 Or even less if it was up to him but it isn't. His agent will go there to get paid, and he has all the arguments in the world to get a lot.

They aren't really allowed to go that much under market value because it would be used by other teams as a negotiation tool in everyone else's contracts. "Laine only got 6 a year" would become the new mantra for any GM entering contract talks with their players.

It's not up to Laine as much as we'd like to think it is. He will take a discount but it will be similar to what Toews and Kane took (about half a million). His contract will in all likelihood be double digits per year. Goalscorers are the most valuable asset and this guy is probably the best ever in that. And it's very likely he will lead the league in goals for most of the next 10 seasons at least. There really isn't a market example for that kind of player.

Look on the bright side, if you do get him at 10 a year, it's quite plausible there will be seasons during his contract where he is 5 million underpaid compared to true market value. A 60+50 player would already be close to that value and I think he has a higher ceiling than that

 

[Aavco Cup]

The Oilers scrambled the top RFA scale with the Draisatl deal. I'm thinking 8x $8M or something close.

 

[tacogeoff]

That's pure gold.

 

[Gm0ney]

8% of the cap at the low end and maybe 13% on the high end. Assuming an $80M cap next year, that's $6.4M to $10.4M.

$8.5M-ish seems around the compromise point.

 

[surixon]

I'm guessing 7.5 to 8 per year is what he will get inked for.

 

[Adam da bomb]

W



Laine goal scoring pace since he began his career. He should get around 9 -10 more goals in 23 games barring injury.

That is realistic projection.

13 goals might be tough BUT that is the reason you cheer for the kid. Laine is also due for a hat trick.

He trying to accomplish not many teenagers have done in the history of the league.
He is chading Kovalchuk, Stamkos, Crosby Hawerchuks under 20 goal productions.

For Jets 8th best forward and 5th best Fin.

He is not doing to bad then?

If you believe Laine and Ehlers are in the 3rd line because of their bad play. Its not.
Its more on spreading the lines.

Would you rathet have

Connot Copp Roslovic on the 3rd line
Or Laine Copp Ehlers? 27 & 29 have proven more.

Also style of play.

Also don't expect your 2 leading goal scorers to be in the 3rd line til end of the year.

But id be ok with them in the 3rd line as not many teams can match jets top 3 lines.

The 3rd line accounts for 28% of the Jets goal.
Thats insane.

Ehlers is leading Connor by 2 goals. 2 count them. Considering how many more NHL games Ehlers has then Connor I would not say the difference is really that big. Connor is 6 goals behind Laine. When you consider that Laine has been on the first pp all season and has at least 10 more NHL games the discrepenancy is not that big. In addition Connor has been more reliable with the puck than Ehlers with fewer major turn overs that led to goals.

 

[Adam da bomb]

We obviously have a VERY different understanding of how much goals are worth in the game.

That or we really have a difference of understanding of how much keeping goals out of your own net is worth.