Player Discussion: Laine (Mod warning OP)

[Howard Chuck]

Watching a 'Laine's first 100 goals' video last night really made me pine for the old Laine. He really seemed to move up the ice so much faster and with purpose. His hands/ stickhandling seemed so much more slick, and he really used them well to get into scoring position or to to get the puck in a better spot to rip a shot.

His shot was so lethally accurate and his release was elite. We see a lot that people complained that he's not getting the puck in scoring position as much (passes to him not as good) but when you watch where he scored from, it was everywhere. He was 1T from near the blue line, in that spot in the circle, scoring from the opposite side, getting to the net and tipping it or just getting it in the slot and ripping it.

He is not nearly as effective or confident attacking with the puck at speed, beating defenders, and his shot has lost a lot of velocity and accuracy. I really hope he can get some of that back.

This is just MY opinion. Hockey is a very very fast sport. You simply can’t think too much about what you are going to do, a spit second will change your effectiveness drastically. Laine was supremely confident in his ability during years one and two, he didn’t take a second to think about what he was being asked to do, he just did what he knew he could.

Once you ask someone to go against their nature, those precious milliseconds are past and your advantage is gone. There were times in those first two years where we didn’t even understand some of the incredible stick work he performed until you saw it in super slow motion. I can’t even comprehend how he was able to process the game that quickly but I do understand how you wouldn’t be able to do that if you are thinking about something else.

Im not, in any way saying that he didn’t have to get better at other portions of the game, but that came at a cost. Hopefully he has learned enough two way play to get his confidence back regarding his old offense style.

I’m looking for a huge year from him.

 

[DRW204]

He's getting similar shot opportunities and distance/quality this past year as the rest of his career. I'm on mobile atm but IIRC his shooting efficiency on the pp tanked this year in terms of scoring and even hitting the net (pretty sure he close to doubled the next jets Fwd in shot attempts but was behind in SOGs and goals on the pp, on mobile can't confirm) . I don't think it's a question of sacrificing 10 goals (40s to 30s) to be a better two way forward he simply isn't the same shooter as he was in the first two years. From analysis I've seen, his shooting distance/quality/quantity rates has pretty much remained constant.

Also in 17-18 he was shooting nearly 30% on the PP. Not sure how repeatable that is year in year out. That's pretty much the difference in goal totals right there.

If he isn't shooting 18% he'll need to basically lead the league in SOGs to get 40-50 goals (over 82 games ofc)

 

[Cleatus]

This is just MY opinion. Hockey is a very very fast sport. You simply can’t think too much about what you are going to do, a spit second will change your effectiveness drastically. Laine was supremely confident in his ability during years one and two, he didn’t take a second to think about what he was being asked to do, he just did what he knew he could.

Once you ask someone to go against their nature, those precious milliseconds are past and your advantage is gone. There were times in those first two years where we didn’t even understand some of the incredible stick work he performed until you saw it in super slow motion. I can’t even comprehend how he was able to process the game that quickly but I do understand how you wouldn’t be able to do that if you are thinking about something else.

Im not, in any way saying that he didn’t have to get better at other portions of the game, but that came at a cost. Hopefully he has learned enough two way play to get his confidence back regarding his old offense style.

I’m looking for a huge year from him.

Agree with everything said here... I know my hopes are probably pretty high, but with the return of Stastny (and just a 56 game season), I'm honestly thinking he'll be in contention for the Rocket, and hopefully that will be enough to get his confidence going forward.

 

[Howard Chuck]

Agree with everything said here... I know my hopes are probably pretty high, but with the return of Stastny (and just a 56 game season), I'm honestly thinking he'll be in contention for the Rocket, and hopefully that will be enough to get his confidence going forward.

His beard season he was a monster. Scoring and hitting and just all around dominant. He had things to learn still, but that was an amazingly fun season to watch.

He should grow the billy goat look again

 

[abax44]

His beard season he was a monster. Scoring and hitting and just all around dominant. He had things to learn still, but that was an amazingly fun season to watch.

He should grow the billy goat look again

Maybe he could work it into an epic comb-over. He's going to need it sooner than later.

 

[10Ducky10]

Laine battling with KC for the Richard this year!!!!!!!

 

[Jet]

I def agree about that hit. I don't think he's been the same player since. The shooting, movement and creativity he was working with then was absolutely exhilarating. And then comes the journeyman McCabe.

I wonder whether that hit didn't have some impact on his back also. Hitting the ice in a dead flop is all kinds of dangerous.

It could have certainly caused some longer term physical impacts - I really think it changed him mentally as a player as well.

 

[Jet]

He had a 44 goal season after the hit...

Yes that's true, but his game changed after it. He scored more goals on the PP with that static 1T in that 44 goal season, and wasn't nearly as dynamic on the rush or creating his own chances (IMHO).

 

[Jet]

This is just MY opinion. Hockey is a very very fast sport. You simply can’t think too much about what you are going to do, a spit second will change your effectiveness drastically. Laine was supremely confident in his ability during years one and two, he didn’t take a second to think about what he was being asked to do, he just did what he knew he could.

Once you ask someone to go against their nature, those precious milliseconds are past and your advantage is gone. There were times in those first two years where we didn’t even understand some of the incredible stick work he performed until you saw it in super slow motion. I can’t even comprehend how he was able to process the game that quickly but I do understand how you wouldn’t be able to do that if you are thinking about something else.

Im not, in any way saying that he didn’t have to get better at other portions of the game, but that came at a cost. Hopefully he has learned enough two way play to get his confidence back regarding his old offense style.

I’m looking for a huge year from him.

I agree with this. At the NHL level even a modicum of self doubt can affect your timing and ability to pull off the moves and plays that we saw with early Laine. I'd suspect theres been some 'reprogramming' necessary as Laine has to consciously think about the defensive aspects of the game. Hopefully he's getting comfortable enough with that part of his game that it can become automatic and he can start letting his instincts take over again.

 

[WolfHouse]

I feel like Laine performed better at LW than RW

 

[Hunter368]

Rumours & trade belong in the Trade, FA thread.

 

[Ippenator]

Yes that's true, but his game changed after it. He scored more goals on the PP with that static 1T in that 44 goal season, and wasn't nearly as dynamic on the rush or creating his own chances (IMHO).

His shooting problems (and some other problems too) for the past two seasons have mostly to do with too ambitious physical training and the back problems caused by it, while having a weakish back already before it. He has been concentrating a lot on fixing those back problems and the other physical problems related to it, now during last two off season’s.

Probably (hopefully) he will manage to recover his shooting to the level it was at during his first two NHL season’s. His shooting power and general shooting quality has been unfortunately far from that level during his last two season’s, which is the biggest reason for his shooting percentage and goal amounts dropping.

If the head injury from his rookie season was truly still bothering him, he wouldn’t be able to play even at the level that he has been playing after that. And he wouldn't definitely have been able to play as many games as he has played since the concussion.

 

[mattihp]

I feel like Laine performed better at LW than RW

It used to be his position for sure. If a guy like Ehlers is on the other wing they will swap when needed

 

[Jet]

His shooting problems (and some other problems too) for the past two seasons have mostly to do with too ambitious physical training and the back problems caused by it, while having a weakish back already before it. He has been concentrating a lot on fixing those back problems and the other physical problems related to it, now during last two off season’s.

Probably (hopefully) he will manage to recover his shooting to the level it was at during his first two NHL season’s. His shooting power and general shooting quality has been unfortunately far from that level during his last two season’s, which is the biggest reason for his shooting percentage and goal amounts dropping.

If the head injury from his rookie season was truly still bothering him, he wouldn’t be able to play even at the level that he has been playing after that. And he wouldn't definitely have been able to play as many games as he has played since the concussion.

I was speaking psychologically, not physiologically

 

[Ippenator]

B

I was speaking psychologically, not physiologically

But his real problems in hockey are mostly physiological.

 

[Jet]

B

But his real problems in hockey are mostly physiological.

I'd argue with that. We've seen him get down on himself quite a bit, and I doubt his physical issues have stopped him from being an effective stickhandler. I remember when he was so down on himself and was experiencing a dry spell and then when the Jets went to Finland he scored 4 goals.

I think his main issue is psychological.

 

[ps241]

His shooting problems (and some other problems too) for the past two seasons have mostly to do with too ambitious physical training and the back problems caused by it, while having a weakish back already before it. He has been concentrating a lot on fixing those back problems and the other physical problems related to it, now during last two off season’s.

Probably (hopefully) he will manage to recover his shooting to the level it was at during his first two NHL season’s. His shooting power and general shooting quality has been unfortunately far from that level during his last two season’s, which is the biggest reason for his shooting percentage and goal amounts dropping.

If the head injury from his rookie season was truly still bothering him, he wouldn’t be able to play even at the level that he has been playing after that. And he wouldn't definitely have been able to play as many games as he has played since the concussion.

This is an interesting post. I really hope he has recovered physically.

 

[Ippenator]

I'd argue with that. We've seen him get down on himself quite a bit, and I doubt his physical issues have stopped him from being an effective stickhandler. I remember when he was so down on himself and was experiencing a dry spell and then when the Jets went to Finland he scored 4 goals.

I think his main issue is psychological.

He is very ambitious and also demanding to himself, and sure that can be sometimes causing some extra tension that can add to some streakiness. But no, his biggest problems are absolutely still not psychological. I can assure that they are very heavily physiological. With knees and back mostly, but also with the lack of stamina and general strength compared to how tall he has always been.

If he can fix these problems even partially, it will help him play much less forcing himself physically, with more natural body movement in skating and shooting. This will most probably help with taking away some of the pressure causing part of the streakiness too.

Very interesting to see how much they have been able to fix his back related physical problems during this off season, as they did a lot more of work for fixing his back problems and his general mobility than any off season before.