Have we seen the best of P. Laine?

[Star Ocean]

Laine is having 0.65ppg in a high scoring season. And that on an offensive team. Is this his real level?

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[Jyrki Lumme]

He'll be fine. But I don't think we'll ever see him push 60 goals like people were suggesting. The notion of him being a consistent 90-100+ point player is gone. I see him being a 75ish point player. But consistency isn't exactly a hallmark of his game. So those totals could bounce around all over the place year to year.

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

No peripherals on what 'bouncing back' means and the floor for his PPG is too high if you're expecting him to fall from grace.. But from the 2 options #2 is probably closer to the truth.

 

[AD1066]

Doubt it. The toolbox is there to be an ~80 point guy. Especially if he can improve his skating a bit.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

All I know is even in the midst of him scoring goals in bunches, lots of Winnipeg fans were saying that he relied a lot on other players to give him opportunities.

He’s got a great shot that he gets away lightning fast, but what are his other assets? In a progressively faster game, which relies more and more on speed and individual skill, is he really a 80-100 point player as originally thought? It is seeming to become more and more unlikely.

It’s a tough poll to answer given only two possible responses. Is getting back above .65 next year considered “bouncing back”? Or is “bouncing back” reaching the originally projected potential speculated during his rookie season?

 

[bert]

Most players peak at 20, should probably just let him go we will take him in Ottawa.

 

[ijuka]

Have we seen the best of Vesperia's polls?


Laine will bounce back.

 

[viper0220]

Laine will bounce back, he has shown to be good.

 

[ESH]

He'll be fine. But I don't think we'll ever see him push 60 goals like people were suggesting. The notion of him being a consistent 90-100+ point player is gone. I see him being a 75ish point player. But consistency isn't exactly a hallmark of his game. So those totals could bounce around all over the place year to year.

Why though? Simply because he’s struggled a bit this year? Players grow at different paces, and there’s a very select few players that were as good scorers as Laine was as a teenager.

 

[IPS]

Don't buy the Finnish lies

That hypetrain was bound to come crashing down . He shoots the puck very good but does nothing else well. These 1-trick ponies don't ever do too much in the NHL.

 

[Jyrki Lumme]

Why though? Simply because he’s struggled a bit this year? Players grow at different paces, and there’s a very select few players that were as good scorers as Laine was as a teenager.

Fine, it's not impossible. But I take it less seriously than when it was said a year or two ago. We've seen a decline in his point production each consecutive year. Based on his contemporaries, I can't think of a single other elite scoring young player who that's true for. Even based on the previous generation of scorers, we've seen improvement on their rookie year in year 2, or most commonly year 3.

So it's no, it's not impossible, but he'd be taking a very unusual route if it comes true.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

If he works his skating to Barkov's level (Their skating style is identical and both were criticized early on), he'll be a monster.

 

[Gains]

Probably stats a bit better than a prime Thomas Vanek

 

[POVERTY]

Yep, Laine's done.

 

[hamzarocks]

We probably have seen the best of Laine as a goal scorer( dont expect him to take another huge step from here, he should be top 3 in goalscoring for the next decade and capable of winning a couple of Richard's but dont see anyway he separates himself from his peers and outscored them by 15 goals on a yearly basis). Should be good for 50ish goals a year in his prime. As a player maker I can see him getting to mid 40s level and be a 90-100 pt player at his peak.

 

[tony d]

Option 1. He'll bounce back and score 40 next year.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

If he works his skating to Barkov's level (Their skating style is identical and both were criticized early on), he'll be a monster.

He doesn't seem to have Barkov's work ethic or attention to detail away from the puck.

Laine's goal scoring potential is huge, but I don't see anything in the rest of his game to see him to become this elite overall player. Seasons of 50 goals and 35 assists wouldn't surprise me. Seasons of 100+ points would since I don't think he's got the creativity/passing ability to rack up enough assists.

 

[Leafsrock95]

I’d say this is basically it. I don’t think he’s gonna ever be a great passer but he’s gonna score goals for sure. Hopefully more consistently though because he’s basically useless playing how he is now.

Also everyone here kinda expects him to be a 50 goal scorer. Idk if he’s that guy. Maybe a career year or if he plays with a talented playmaker but he needs to be fed the puck he isn’t creating his own shots.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

He doesn't seem to have Barkov's work ethic or attention to detail away from the puck.

Laine's goal scoring potential is huge, but I don't see anything in the rest of his game to see him to become this elite overall player. Seasons of 50 goals and 35 assists wouldn't surprise me. Seasons of 100+ points would since I don't think he's got the creativity/passing ability to rack up enough assists.

Very few player have his work ethic. Doesnt mean Laine could not get better. Disagree with no creativity. Everyone saying he is not a great passer has not been paying attention

 

[Martin Skoula]

Laine's skating full healthy in his physical prime is already bad. You have to hope he never has a mobility hampering injury in his career or it's going to get ugly real fast. Remember how fast Heatley went from 40 goals to not good enough for the NHL?

 

[Cleatus]

I always thought Laine had untapped playmaking potential from his first couple of seasons, as he did make some pretty slick passes from time to time... The potential is still there, but judging from this season, I just don't think he has the vision to do it consistently, therefore, very unlikely to ever be a 100+ point player.

If he's still having troubles a couple of seasons from now, I'll really start worrying. I strongly believe he will bounce back and become a 40-50 goal, near-PPG, Rocket Richard winning player though.

 

[Khomutov]

I still believe he can score 50 at least once in his career. He will bounce back.

 

[Future GOAT]

Maybe, but he's very lazy and doesn't seem to want to/is unable to move his feet. That will hinder him.

 

[Mac2Rants]

iI doubt hes this bad next year but I don't know whether he'll ever be a ppg+ or 50+ goalscorer

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Very few player have his work ethic. Doesnt mean Laine could not get better. Disagree with no creativity. Everyone saying he is not a great passer has not been paying attention

Didn't say "no creativity". I said the type of creativity that would allow him to reach 100+ points. Ditto his passing ability. I didn't say he was a bad passer, just not one that's great enough to get the 50+ assists per year that he'd need to reach 100+ points.