Player Discussion: Patrik Laine - MOD WARNING IN OP

[Kaako Kappo]

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I think Laine will sign in and around $ 7 to $ 7.5 mil per year -"a team friendly deal. If he didn't have a fantastic shot, his game is just ordinary, but then again he's only 18-19 years old.

If Laine was UFA -- some team would likely go around $ 9- 9.5 mil per year on him. That is what's good about the Cap--it keeps things fair, and from getting carried away, and stressing the finances of smaller franchises.

I agree with the 7-7.5 mil, but that's not a very fair comment. It's like saying if McDavid didn't have his skating he'd just be an ordinary hockey dude. You don't evaluate players by what they'd be if they didn't have their elite abilities.

 

[GNP]

I agree with the 7-7.5 mil, but that's not a very fair comment. It's like saying if McDavid didn't have his skating he'd just be an ordinary hockey dude. You don't evaluate players by what they'd be if they didn't have their elite abilities.

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I do see your point somewhat ??? but with Laine, to many sloppy giveaways, and quite a slow skater, especially those first 3 steps. Right now, I only see his devastating shot being his big asset. Just my opinion.

With McDavid -- he does "everything" good -- great skater, great playmaker, great accurate shot, so I don't think your comparison is very good. We really should be looking at Laine 3-4 years down the road, to see how he develops.

 

[SniperOnTheWing]

Three straight 1G 1A games for Laine. The hatty can't be far off right?

 

[NotCommitted]

Btw. Laine has crept into top-10 in goals, being 9th with 28 and 6th since he entered the league. And he's still 19.

Whenever you feel like that Laine kid is not that special and can't even create his own offence, watch some other teams and realize what kind of effect it has on the PP and how much space it also creates for other players to score to have a shot like Laine on ice. In PP goals Laine leads the league with 16, only Stamkos and Malkin coming close with 14 and 13.

He's currently on pace for 38. Taking into account how consistent he has been for the season, I doubt he'll fall far off that pace and depending on the lines and ice time, he might even take it up a notch to still reach 40. Oveckin, Malkin and Kucherov seem unreachable, but he's only 2 goals away from being 4th.

I also like how on the whole his game has been getting better and better as the season has progressed and I'm starting to see some of the things he did before NHL come back to his game, which promises good for coming seasons as he gets to his peak physically. To be honest my expectations were higher for this season already, and production wise he's currently trending towards the low end of what I had in mind. I was expecting an improvement similar to what Aho for example has done. But on the whole it hasn't really changed how I view him as a player, I'm still very much willing to go on record saying I believe he has a very good chance to become one of the best European players we've seen.

If it was that easy to be a teenager top-10 scorer in the league, I believe more people would do it

 

[Kaako Kappo]

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I do see your point somewhat ??? but with Laine, to many sloppy giveaways, and quite a slow skater, especially those first 3 steps. Right now, I only see his devastating shot being his big asset. Just my opinion.

With McDavid -- he does "everything" good -- great skater, great playmaker, great accurate shot, so I don't think your comparison is very good. We really should be looking at Laine 3-4 years down the road, to see how he develops.

Give aways are a bad stat and you'll get burned using those. Mcdavid has plenty more than Laine and Wheeler has 1 less. McDavid is indeed a smart player and a very good playmaker, but lets say he had Laine's speed...how many points would he put up? And his shot is not great. It's an OK shot and he gets to use it a lot because of his speed. There are lot's of good, smart players in the league who won't put up nearly as many points as McDavid because they don't have the skating ability to get into a prime position to use those smarts more often.

Also it's not like Laine is dumb as bricks and can't pass the puck

 

[Halberdier]

Three straight 1G 1A games for Laine. The hatty can't be far off right?

I thought Laine got robbed a 2nd assist against Florida but seems that they added it back later.

 

[GNP]

Give aways are a bad stat and you'll get burned using those. Mcdavid has plenty more than Laine and Wheeler has 1 less. McDavid is indeed a smart player and a very good playmaker, but lets say he had Laine's speed...how many points would he put up? And his shot is not great. It's an OK shot and he gets to use it a lot because of his speed.

Also it's not like Laine is dumb as bricks and can't pass the puck

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Well, you make some good points here, and I don't think for a moment that Laine is dumb --as a matter of fact, I think he's quite smart. Just that he's so young, he's really still developing. I hope he can pick up on his speed though - "he'd be dynamite"

McDavid - your right--his speed sets up chances for his shot --which I think is very good and accurate. I would put his shot on the same level as Ehlers. Both are fast players, and possess hard accurate shots.

Their shots do not compare to that of Laines though - his is second to none. I'd just like to see him develop the rest of his game. Don't forget other big guys like Scheiffle took a long time to come into their own, and Laine is much younger.

 

[ijk]

McDavid's shot is not great. At times he does have accurate shots, but based on how many chances he creates he is really poor at converting these chances into goals.

In tight he often is unable to raise the puck over a goalies pad (like last night against Boston vs. Laine's goal two nights ago), and from afar he deters shooting too much and his shot really needs improvement. Although he is one of the few bright spots on the Oilers, I assure even most of their fans recognize this problem.

Signed,
An Oiler fan


But back to Laine. That goal was a beauty.

I hope he turns on another level during the playoffs, but I fear that his scoring will decrease even further (against high expectations) if there are less PP's in the post season.

 

[NotCommitted]

I do see your point somewhat ??? but with Laine, to many sloppy giveaways, and quite a slow skater, especially those first 3 steps. Right now, I only see his devastating shot being his big asset. Just my opinion.

With McDavid -- he does "everything" good -- great skater, great playmaker, great accurate shot, so I don't think your comparison is very good. We really should be looking at Laine 3-4 years down the road, to see how he develops.

Calling McDavid's shot great is a pretty long stretch IMO. I'd go as far and say his shot and his unwillingness to use it are his biggest weaknesses as a player. But that's off topic I don't really agree with your view on Laine, he has a lot more than a great shot to offer and from the Jets perspective, they should sign him to a big deal as soon as possible. The longer they wait the more likely it is they end up in a situation where they 'have to' pay more for him than it makes sense to pay for any single player. A 35-40 goal scorer is worth a lot and since the kid is 19, it seems a pretty safe bet in a couple years he'll be a 45-50g scorer and who knows where the ceiling might be. I don't know much about how the contract stuff works and don't really care much for that side to be honest, but the sooner the Jets sign him the better. It seems a very low risk sign up with a good chance of getting his peak years for a relative bargain.

EDIT: since I saw more discussion re McDavid's shot, I'll add with a better shot he'd be a 50g scorer already. He'd probably also use it more. As it is, he has a pass first mentality to a fault, he's really quite frustrating to watch sometimes, after getting spoiled with shots like Laine, Scheif and even Ehlers in the Jets.

 

[GNP]

Calling McDavid's shot great is a pretty long stretch IMO. I'd go as far and say his shot and his unwillingness to use it are his biggest weaknesses as a player. But that's off topic I don't really agree with your view on Laine, he has a lot more than a great shot to offer and from the Jets perspective, they should sign him to a big deal as soon as possible. The longer they wait the more likely it is they end up in a situation where they 'have to' pay more for him than it makes sense to pay for any single player. A 35-40 goal scorer is worth a lot and since the kid is 19, it seems a pretty safe bet in a couple years he'll be a 45-50g scorer and who knows where the ceiling might be. I don't know much about how the contract stuff works and don't really care much for that side to be honest, but the sooner the Jets sign him the better. It seems a very low risk sign up with a good chance of getting his peak years for a relative bargain.

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You make some really good points, and I totally agree - Laine will score around 40 goals this year, so sign him now, while it's affordable. I would not be surprised to see him score 60 goals within the next 3 years.

Anyways - your right - a 40 goal scorer is hard to find, especially at 19 yrs old,-"so let's sign him now"-- long term.

BTW- from what I've seen of McDavid-"he has a really good shot" - much like Ehlers has. Just my opinion of course.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Three straight 1G 1A games for Laine. The hatty can't be far off right?

Any garbage teams coming up?


E: Checked. Not really.

 

[Insthofen]

Last two Laine slapshot goals... If I didn't know the shooter I'd blame goalies a lot. Exceptional.

 

[Narow]

Last two Laine slapshot goals... If I didn't know the shooter I'd blame goalies a lot. Exceptional.

Beating uncreened goalies from almost the blueline.. very few that can do it, also his "first" true backhand goal was a beauty

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Beating uncreened goalies from almost the blueline.. very few that can do it, also his "first" true backhand goal was a beauty

He's also abandoned the wrist shot almost completely if he has the chance to clap it. Today he could've easily tried to wrist it in, but instead he stopped the puck and loaded a cannon. I find that kinda funny. I guess he finds it easier to score with a clapper right now?

 

[Narow]

He's also abandoned the wrist shot almost completely if he has the chance to clap it. Today he could've easily tried to wrist it in, but instead he stopped the puck and loaded a cannon. I find that kinda funny. I guess he finds it easier to score with a clapper right now?

Hah no idea.. perhaps it is even harder for goalies to read where he will shoot from a clapper? Seems like he does it if he has enough space..and his accuracy is surprisinglymgood with the slapper so makes sense i guess

 

[Ny rillataan]

Any garbage teams coming up?


E: Checked. Not really.

Not garbage, but Dallas is coming up on Saturday...

 

[grieves]

Good game by Laine. He seems kinda down though.

 

[BB88]

Draisaitl is grossly overpaid. A deal something like Pastarnak got would be more realistic. Or maybe something in between. If i was Laine or his manager i'd maybe try to go for a 3x6 and see what i can get when older.

Pasta started in the AHL, his +1 or +2 seasons were nothing special. He exploded in his 3rd season.
Drai's 1st season was nothing special and he scored 51 points on his +2 season.

Laines CV is on a (completely) different level to theirs at the time(+2) and he has the hype/potential bonus like Eichel had. Drai& Eichel hadn't earned their contracts at the time of signing but Laines agent can easily point to them and say Laine has scored more.
Goals are expensive.

I hope Laine leaves money on the table but I wouldn't be expecting a 6x6.6 contract. It would be the best contract in the league from day 1.

 

[Heldig]

My bet is he signs an identical contract to Ehlers.

 

[PhilJets]

Good game by Laine. He seems kinda down though.

SHH we can't speak of that here
Honestly
You'll be down if you dont get top minutes.
That's normal. They are human and he is a teenager.

Player like Laine knows he is a top player. But he is being nice and quiet about it.

There is no perpect hockey player. We always try to find players weakness and nit pick it. Heck Gretzky gets critisize here.
Only 2 players i know who are almost perfect.

Lemiuex and Lindros. Didnt see Howe so im not sure.

Laine bring so much to the table and his presence alone open up space for all the others.

He don't play the point just because he has a great shot. They trust him enough to play defense also. Thats a 19 yr old forward.

If he keeps this up bonus and 8+ mil a year is coming.

Im just glad he is a Jet. Cornerstone player for the next 8 years.

 

[RageQuit77]

SHH we can't speak of that here
Honestly...


Im just glad he is a Jet. Cornerstone player for the next 8 years.

Haha . I love you.

 

[tacogeoff]

Good game by Laine. He seems kinda down though.

rumor is Ovi kicked his ass in call of duty the night before

He is young, a great talent and is constantly improving. I wont be surprised to see him back on the top line sooner or later to shake things up.

 

[cbcwpg]

An agents job is to get the most money he can for his player and he does this by starting off asking for an unreasonable amount. So, JMO, Laine's agent is going to start negotiations at $10,000,000 per season. How low the Jets can get them to bend is what needs to be seen.

 

[Howard Chuck]

from the Jets perspective, they should sign him to a big deal as soon as possible. The longer they wait the more likely it is they end up in a situation where they 'have to' pay more for him than it makes sense to pay for any single player. A 35-40 goal scorer is worth a lot and since the kid is 19, it seems a pretty safe bet in a couple years he'll be a 45-50g scorer and who knows where the ceiling might be.

This is how I feel. Laine has things to work on, but he's a big kid and emphasis on the 'kid' part. His potential is enormous. He's already in the top 10 in the league for scoring right now. If he continues to improve and grow into his body, he is going to be very expensive, and there is no reason to believe that he won't do that.

My bet is he signs an identical contract to Ehlers.

I think if he signs a 'friendly' contract, he asks for exactly $1 more than Ehlers.

I actually think he'll get more than that.

 

[cbcwpg]

Regardless as to the amount of money the Jets end of giving Laine.... they have to put a clause in his contract that says... " No beards!!! "

Seriously, he gets A+ for effort but F- ( or whatever the lowest grade is ) for execution. You want a beard, fine, then at least trim it a bit so it doesn't look like some woodland creature jumped on your face and got stuck there.