Player Discussion: Laine (mod warning OP)

[nippanappa]

As a Finnish it's nice to watch players like Aho, Barkov, Rantanen etc. but with Laine there's just this extra special feeling that makes watching him and Jets much more interesting. It's hard to explain, maybe it's a feeling that anything can happen when he gets his game going (5 goal night, wrister goal from the blue line etc).

Last season was tough to watch but this season you can once again feel that "Laine-magic" when he steps on the ice. Similar to what happened in his first two seasons. I know the season is young but damn it's so exciting times! Keep this going Patrik!

 

[Turin]

As much as Laine downplayed his back injury I think that was a huge factor in his season last year.

 

[Halberdier]

Laine last season: 27 es points in 82 games
Laine so far this season: 9 in 5.

PP specialist no more

I think he was not PP specialist for 16-17. I guess most of his points were on ES back then. Checked: 50 ES points, 14 PP points on 73 games on his rookie season.

 

[Nuusku]

I think he was not PP specialist for 16-17. I guess most of his points were on ES back then. Checked: 50 ES points, 14 PP points on 73 games on his rookie season.

True. The last two season he has almost half his points on pp though. And nothing wrong with that. I'm just tired of the one trick pony/only useful on pp -narrative. He is so much more that that and based on these five games, it should be clear to everyone watching. Not just the points, but the way he is cycling the puck, hitting and driving the play is something else.

 

[jetsforever]

Laine leads NHL in points, assists and also leads NHL in +/- (what the..?).

8 hits on people in today's game. Way more than anyone else.

I love this motivated Laine. More minutes with Scheifele and Wheeler found his motivation.

Not sure who that McDavid guy is, looks like he's almost as good as Laine though

 

[NotCommitted]

Well, it's early but this far it's looking like the break-out season I have been waiting for... This guy scored 44 goals from the 2nd line + PP and being physically raw. The way he is playing he will add 50 assists on that and I will love how it'll be all about lucky 2ndary assists for some people - hopefully not on the Jets board though...

It was also nice to see an old timer from Laine on that Scheif feed. That was legit goal scoring goodness

 

[jetsforever]

We are seeing Patrik Laine year 1 BUT

Bigger , faster and more experience.

Im excited now.
But holy smoke in 2 years !!!!!
Go Laine

If this is bigger year 1 Laine, maybe in 2 years we'll get bigger year 3 Laine

 

[Tommigun]

What I like about LSW is the grit and physicality Laine brings to that line.

 

[Tommigun]

If this is bigger year 1 Laine, maybe in 2 years we'll get bigger year 3 Laine

Could be as it’s the first year of his monster contract!

 

[1OApick]

Really liked how had variation on powerplay. Wheeler and Laine can mess up opponents shading and change sides on PP. Most exciting player in the league. And when we get our power play going. This line builds more chemistry this will be best line in hockey.

 

[Keduzin]

I’m so glad Laine is starting to show to the critics that he is THE superstar of the Jets. Now, having said that and being happy as finn for him, I also hope that his team does well and unfortunatly the problems of the Jets are not solved yet. The lack of a decent 2C makes me feel bad for Ehlers and Connor. With a decent playmaker the Jets would have two great lines. I must admit though that I don’t remember how much an Ehlers-Little-Connor line has been together and how they have played. Do they have chemistry ? If they do, that would be great !

 

[kelsier]

That was the best game I've seen of him since the five goal effort last season, if not even better when you look at Laine's all around effort. He was scoring, passing, hitting, pretty much the whole works.

I truly had no real expectations coming into the season since I had no clue who'd he be playing with and if anything had actually changed. It took contract negotiations to get Maurice to wake up?
Anyway, I never even imagined him leading the the league in points after some five game start but there it is, so gotta enjoy as long as it lasts. The best thing about it is he's still work in progress and soon enough he'll do this consistently (even if not scoring 4 points a night). What a phenomenal start with the 2 ppg (nevermind having only 1 point on the PP). Can't say I've enjoyed watching the Jets as much as this for a long time. Just thrilling!

I was so surprised no one tried to offer sheet him at the end (with something like 10,4-5m AAV) and test the Jets. If team(s) contemplated it I wonder what they are thinking right now.

Go Jets go Laine!

 

[Jeffsrig]

Confidence is such an important aspect in this game that doesn’t get taken into consideration often enough. Bad stretches of play can really cause a player to be constantly second guessing themselves which translates into being a split second behind and creates a perpetuating problem that is difficult to fix. Laine might seem cocky or overconfident at face value but I thing he has struggled to fight through some bad stretches of play and tended to get worse over time rather than better in some cases. This is where solid leadership can make all the difference on a team, being able to lift up your players, grab a shovel and help lift them out of the funk. Solidifying that confidence so that a young player doesn’t feel like he is a failure for anything short of perfection. I hope he stays on the run he is on but I think he is going to be prone to slumps.

 

[slurpee addict]

He keeps this type of play up or even close to it the coach can't remove him from the line......which is what many fans said Laine had to do.....aka make it impossible to remove him. Of course if the line ever gets cold, the blender should rightfully come out, but that should be for a short time period only before Laine would get another chance. Laine was given a chance again this year and he's running with it, good for him & the Jets. Ironically he appears to be turning into the power forward & excelling at it.....haha. Full marks to Laine on his performance & improved work ethic/maturity this year.

Don't underestimate the power of Maurice to be, well. Maurice...

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

I truly had no real expectations coming into the season since I had no clue who'd he be playing with and if anything had actually changed. It took contract negotiations to get Maurice to wake up?

Nope, Maurice was wide awake last season, and it took Laine playing a completely different game than anything he produced last season, that woke up.

If anyone tried to tell me that last night's Laine game was on display last season, I have some land to sell ya.

As you stated, that was possibly the best game he has had in this league. Last season he would have refrained from going into the corners, knocking guys off pucks, hitting and being physically engaged, playing with speed and a quick pace.

Last night there were no drive byes, no floating and gliding. He was on pucks, he had no hesitation to get pucks off the wall and out of corners.

Make ZERO mistake about it, Laine's excellent play has ZILCH to do with Wheeler and Scheifele, or Maurice, and everything to do with Patty playing the type of game he is capable of.

He is starting to realize how valuable his size can be, and as his confidence grows he could a beast to play against.

Had some had their way with Patty's usage last season, gifting him that spot on the number 1 line, not challenging him to be a full package player, Laine probably gets pulled off that line after a period. This team is challenging him to be one of the best in the game, not a 1 trick pony.

 

[PhilJets]

Now you see me now you dont.
Now i freeze you with my fake.
Watch my Magic Johnson pass to Kyle Connor.


Boyaahhh.


Remember

This guy was

Clipping 1.1 points per game and was 8th in league scoring and lead the Jets in scoring as an 18th year old up to January when he took that hit.
Came back but was never inserted to line 1 again by the coach.
He was magical in year 1.


This was the guy in year 2 pump in 44 goals in 16mins avg ice time.


This was the guy who is after Schiefele the best Jets forward in the playoff.

This is why many believe he was this good.

Now the coach is trying him in prime slot on 1LW in continous minutes, not 1 period here ,2 period there.

And he is older, wiser, and probably has caught up a little bit more to his 6'5" frame.
Hopefully no more bad back.

 

[Jets 31]

Laine was skating hard all night last night , there were lots of games last season he looked tired and board . If Laine keeps playing like this he Scheif and Wheeler will be one of THE best lines in hockey . Roslovic should get a shot centering Connor and Ehlers , speed kills man or at the very least draws penalties .

 

[Hunter368]

Ha, ha, It’s ironic how mad you sound. You’ve been wrong about him. It’s ok.

Mad? Couldn't be more wrong, I'm extremely happy he's turned things around to-date. As I've said a million times I'm for whatever is best for the "team". Laine has done what he needed to do over the summer both physically & mentally and had a good clearing of the air with the coach. This is what was needed to be done as many people said, he did it and good on him.

 

[Tommigun]

Laine was skating hard all night last night , there were lots of games last season he looked tired and board . If Laine keeps playing like this he Scheif and Wheeler will be one of THE best lines in hockey . Roslovic should get a shot centering Connor and Ehlers , speed kills man or at the very least draws penalties .

I am starting to believe his back was actually quite a large issue last year and made him look tired/bored, because last season was such a contrast to every other professional season he's ever had. It can't just be an attitude thing, why would he suddenly choose to look lethargic for the majority of an entire season just when he was quickly rising to superstardom?

 

[ER89]

as a leaf fan i hope laine outscores marner... f*** you mitch, cheering for laine kids had a rough last few months but looks like he put his head down and persevered this offseason. Yes yes it is early but he looks different.

 

[kelsier]

Nope, Maurice was wide awake last season, and it took Laine playing a completely different game than anything he produced last season, that woke up.

If anyone tried to tell me that last night's Laine game was on display last season, I have some land to sell ya.

As you stated, that was possibly the best game he has had in this league. Last season he would have refrained from going into the corners, knocking guys off pucks, hitting and being physically engaged, playing with speed and a quick pace.

Last night there were no drive byes, no floating and gliding. He was on pucks, he had no hesitation to get pucks off the wall and out of corners.

Make ZERO mistake about it, Laine's excellent play has ZILCH to do with Wheeler and Scheifele, or Maurice, and everything to do with Patty playing the type of game he is capable of.

He is starting to realize how valuable his size can be, and as his confidence grows he could a beast to play against.

Had some had their way with Patty's usage last season, gifting him that spot on the number 1 line, not challenging him to be a full package player, Laine probably gets pulled off that line after a period. This team is challenging him to be one of the best in the game, not a 1 trick pony.

Except last season he played through a nagging injury and probably decided that it simply wasn't worth it at some point after not getting rewarded even after that insane November. He would simply be stuck with Little with no chance of getting prime ice time or fitting line mates. Don't think for a second that ice time & role didn't play big part in the negotiations. Had they not promised him at least something those would have dragged deeper into the Fall. He wouldn't have been promoted to the first line last year even after playing the way he did the first three games. Now all of the sudden and without much delay there he is. Hardly a coincidence. Connor and Ehlers had regular checks in the first line during 17-18 and 18-19 where Laine got just one and that was exactly at the same time when Scheifele returned, having suffered 2 months's injury and sucked, which resulted in Laine's demotion. For a long time he was the only top six forward that never got even a look playing with Scheifele and Wheelers, so there's that as far as "being silver-spooned" is concerned.

And seriously, do you think a player like Laine suddenly turns from an All-Star player to average second or third line player? You don't need many fingers to count the number of D+1 players who'd had better rookie season, let alone sophomore season in this decade. He was scoring, passing and throwing hits while excelling right off the gates (doing pretty much everything you would not expect from a one-trick pony) and he didn't suddenly just suck last year. He was hurt and unmotivated, with a damn good reason as well. Based off on the interviews on the summer it started looking like he hardly even wanted to stay here. So guess that served as a wake up call to the management, in case they happened to want to keep him around in the long run.

Now as for playing with Scheifele & Wheelers as much as I'd like to agree with you that it didn't matter that simply isn't so. Of course it matters, just as much as it would matter playing with Little just while having an opposite effect. It this wasn't true, Stastny wouldn't have turned his game upside down in the 17-18 when people had already started to give up on him. What that proved however is that Laine doesn't need an elite center, just a good one to be effective. Right now he's exploding because he actually has two line mates where both think the game at same or similar level.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

Except last season he played through a nagging injury and probably decided that it simply wasn't worth it at some point after not getting rewarded even after that insane November. He would simply be stuck with Little with no chance of getting prime ice time or fitting line mates. Don't think for a second that ice time & role didn't play big part in the negotiations. Had they not promised him at least something those would have dragged deeper into the Fall. He wouldn't have been promoted to the first line last year even after playing the way he did the first three games. Now all of the sudden and without much delay there he is. Hardly a coincidence. Connor and Ehlers had regular checks in the first line during 17-18 and 18-19 where Laine got just one and that was exactly at the same time when Scheifele returned, having suffered 2 months's injury and sucked, which resulted in Laine's demotion. For a long time he was the only top six forward that never got even a look playing with Scheifele and Wheelers, so there's that as far as "being silver-spooned" is concerned.

And seriously, do you think a player like Laine suddenly turns from an All-Star player to average second or third line player? You don't need many fingers to count the number of D+1 players who'd had better rookie season, let alone sophomore season in this decade. He was scoring, passing and throwing hits while excelling right off the gates (doing pretty much everything you would not expect from a one-trick pony) and he didn't suddenly just suck last year. He was hurt and unmotivated, with a damn good reason as well. Based off on the interviews on the summer it started looking like he hardly even wanted to stay here. So guess that served as a wake up call to the management, in case they happened to want to keep him around in the long run.

Now as for playing with Scheifele & Wheelers as much as I'd like to agree with you that it didn't matter that simply isn't so. Of course it matters, just as much as it would matter playing with Little just while having an opposite effect. It this wasn't true, Stastny wouldn't have turned his game upside down in the 17-18 when people had already started to give up on him. What that proved however is that Laine doesn't need an elite center, just a good one to be effective. Right now he's exploding because he actually has two line mates where both think the game at same or similar level.

Wow, if that was his attitude last season, not to try because he wasn't being given what he wanted, then Patty was used EXACTLY how a player that quits trying should be used. If he quit he should have been benched IMO.

We both know that is a bunch of bull.

He played like crap last season, and even he would admit that. This grand delusion that he was held back is laughable at best. Anyone without Laine goggles on see exactly the difference and it all has to do with Laine skating better, Laine playing more physical and being engaged.

Its comical how some want to exonerate him of his own play, delusional but comical.

I would love to put a video together outlining 100 plus plays last season of Laine floating, not engaging, doing drive byes, standing still, moving like he had cement in his pants, and compare it to the 5 games this season and you will quickly see how out to lunch you are in assessing his play

 

[Tommigun]

Wow, if that was his attitude last season, not to try because he wasn't being given what he wanted, then Patty was used EXACTLY how a player that quits trying should be used. If he quit he should have been benched IMO.

We both know that is a bunch of bull.

He played like crap last season, and even he would admit that. This grand delusion that he was held back is laughable at best. Anyone without Laine goggles on see exactly the difference and it all has to do with Laine skating better, Laine playing more physical and being engaged.

Its comical how some want to exonerate him of his own play, delusional but comical.

I would love to put a video together outlining 100 plus plays last season of Laine floating, not engaging, doing drive byes, standing still, moving like he had cement in his pants, and compare it to the 5 games this season and you will quickly see how out to lunch you are in assessing his play

I don't buy the attitude problem, that'd be a crazy thing to do and it's purely speculation. Laine's gone on record saying he had a bad back last year, and bad seasons also just happen without any one cause. This entitlement speculation is just that, speculation from the fanbase.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

I don't buy the attitude problem, that'd be a crazy thing to do and it's purely speculation. Laine's gone on record saying he had a bad back last year, and bad seasons also just happen without any one cause. This entitlement speculation is just that, speculation from the fanbase.

I dont buy it either, which is why the sentence after that statement said we both know its a bunch of bull that he played poorly because he choose to.

 

[Jets 31]

I love Laine lighting it up but i could care less if he didn't but we were winning games . That goes for every single player on the Jets , don't care about individual numbers as long as the Jets win . Having said that Laine has one of the best shots in all of hockey and i love watching him play for the Winnipeg Jets .