Proposal: Laine?

[Oddbob]

If Laine was an injury risk, or was tearing up another league, but you didn't know if you could convince him to sign in the NHL, or it was some other reason that stood a decent chance of getting fixed, I could understand it.

But his issue is the 4 inches between his ears. He doesn't give a crap about dedicating himself to his craft, and just wants $10M a season to coast on (a tremendous amount of) natural talent.

He's AA with a higher ceiling. Hard pass.

He is miles better than AA and actually already produces, an I am not even his biggest fan.

 

[Henkka]

That "1 dimension" is world class. And he is only 22 so he can improve in other areas still. Or is that just reserved for players you like?

He was a playmaker and committed to strong defence at last season. Really big career turnaround as a player. And this change to more complete player started already at season 2018-19. Played like Bertuzzi plays for us. Career-high 35 assists and +8. Highest season production at 5-on-5 hockey.

Very far from one-dimensional anymore. Still scored 28 goals, like ~34 goal pace in 82 games. Currently, he is creative team-player at even strength, and that deadly sniper on the PP.

There is so much more in Patrik Laine, that we haven't even seen yet.

But that next contract is big problem for Jets, they would have lived with that with the expected cap rise to 88M at 2021-22. But it's not gonna happen so they have to shed millions.

Anywhere he goes, and if he gets a full-time 1st line job, he''ll start putting Ovechkin-comparable stats. Maybe a little bit less goal-based, because he showed that playmaker in him.

Raymond would be the perfect feeder for him. Most of Laine success has come with right-handed playmaking winger and ROR-styled defensive net-front center. He is also a good friend of Barkov, so maybe Sasha would join us as UFA, is Laine is here.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Laine has a crazy ceiling, I'd easily trade one of Mantha/Zadina/Raymond for him tbh, though I don't expect the + would be as little as Cholowski+2nd.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I may be alone in this, but I am enjoying the way we are building the team right now. If Mantha was the piece, I could see it because of the age difference and getting younger, but I have to imagine that even keeping Mantha, I can get more value out of the expected contract than I would get from Laine.

But I have no interest in moving the right valuation of Zadina++ or Raymond++ to take on Laine, the question marks about baggage, and a contract that very well be a top 30 salary figure in the league. Not that I think Zadina or Raymond are locks to be on the same level as Laine, but again, the value of their ELC deals, the values of their second contract, the way that we are building this team...I think there's more value in just being patient.

I'd rather gamble, hoping that Seth Jones or Aleksander Barkov make it to the UFA market. I'd rather throw a max contract at Barkov's head when he's 26 going on 27 as a UFA and my drafted foundation is built than give up pieces of that foundation to bring in Laine, even at a lesser dollar value.

 

[Snuggs]

I mean you pull that second trade off from Twitter, and man, Red Wings can have two solid lines.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Patrick Laine
Anthony Mantha – Vladislav Namestnikov/Robbie Fabbri – Bobby Ryan

Creates a top four-core moving forward imo with Bertuzzi/Larkin/Laine/Mantha.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I mean you pull that second trade off from Twitter, and man, Red Wings can have two solid lines.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Patrick Laine
Anthony Mantha – Vladislav Namestnikov/Robbie Fabbri – Bobby Ryan

Creates a top four-core moving forward imo with Bertuzzi/Larkin/Laine/Mantha.

You're forgetting about opportunity cost.

Who else do we end up losing on our team because of how expensive Laine's contract is? What other holes are we not able to fix via free agency or trades because the money is tied up in one player?

10 mil for any player not named McDavid or Draisaitl is too high for me.

Laine is good, but he's not THAT good.

 

[Hatter of the Beach]

30/31 team’s fans realize Laine is a far superior player to Mantha. Depending on the + (anything but a top 3 prospect or a 1st) it’s an easy no brainer. Anything else is homerism.

 

[Ricelund]

Laine's 22, 6'5, 210 pounds and has 138 goals in his first 305 games.

Is he worth $10M? Probably not but to say he's "AA with a higher ceiling"?

 

[NotLeddy]

I'm so glad some of you aren't Steve Yzerman

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

 

[saska sault]

I'm so glad some of you aren't Steve Yzerman

Its almost like we haven't seen teams like Edmonton, Buffalo and Toronto not long ago, mess up, prolong or fail at a rebuild from trying to make decisions like that...

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Laine's 22, 6'5, 210 pounds and has 138 goals in his first 305 games.

Is he worth $10M? Probably not but to say he's "AA with a higher ceiling"?

Honestly, the more I look at the advanced stats, the highlights, etc. I'm not thinking AA with a higher ceiling. I'm thinking heir apparent to Phil Kessel. Still not someone I want on this team.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Laine is showing he's not afraid to ask to be moved if the fit isn't right. Why would he want to come to/stay in Detroit? It sounds like he wants to play with an elite center.

 

[SimonEdvinssonAtSix]

With this latest draft our prospect pool is starting to fill up.
We have Seider and Raymond as legit prospects with real potential. Further down the list we have guys that are interesting but need time to develop.

I just do not believe we are in a position yet to pull off a mega trade. It would gut out assets that we have finally built up.
We need another 2 drafts in the top 10 and with a bit of luck a top 3 pick.

I say pass on Laine, the cost would be too high. Keep on our current path and build through the draft. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and while we have a few more years of pain ahead I think last season was the worst of it.

 

[BinCookin]

I think Laine is the kind of guy who seems to be voicing his displeasure with being on the 2nd line and not the 1st line in WPG. I don't like that. If he forces WPG to trade him, why would we expect him to have loyalty to our team.

He seems selfish. And thus id expect him to walk as soon as he is a UFA to the highest bidder.
IF we sign him, I expect him to cause more issues in some way shape or form.

Great player.... but I really don't think Yzerman is going to look past these personal issues.

 

[PajamaBoy]

Laine is elite. Would love him here but we have one and a half center's on this team and doubt either would be moved or even wanted by that shitty ass jets org. I know we bad and all for the last few years but how can you have the talent Wpg has and still not do Jack shit. f*** that team. Hope they lose him for nothing.

 

[Retire91]

Would love to have Laine although I wouldn't sell the farm for him. I think Laine is the kind of player you add to a preexisting core, I don't see him as a player that you build a team around. He brings skill but it seems like he has stains on his compete / team player attitude.

I think getting a 22 year old with a 40 goal season is always the priority but I would rather be adding him to a team instead of building a team with him if that makes any sense. But in that first proposal we are really only losing Zadina and I think you trade Zadina for Laine all day long. But let's be real 30 other teams are going to beat that deal.

In all honesty when I first saw this thread title before I knew what it was about I was like nope, I wouldn't hate it I just worry about what is going the other way to make it happen.

 

[jkutswings]

Would love to have Laine although I wouldn't sell the farm for him. I think Laine is the kind of player you add to a preexisting core, I don't see him as a player that you build a team around. He brings skill but it seems like he has stains on his compete / team player attitude.

I think a perfect fit for Laine would have been Nashville 2-3 years ago, or the Islanders now, if they didn't already have cap issues. Teams that are rock solid defensively but really need a scoring boost to vault themselves into perennial contender status.

 

[newfy]

30/31 team’s fans realize Laine is a far superior player to Mantha. Depending on the + (anything but a top 3 prospect or a 1st) it’s an easy no brainer. Anything else is homerism.

We'll have to see where the cap goes but I'm not sure the trade off would be worth the cap difference. Laine is a weird dude and I might rather the older player for half the price around when guys like Raymond and Seider are breaking into the league. That might be a trade I make if the wings are further along the rebuild.

Laine had a good season this past year but his goal scoring has come down noticeably while he doesnt really provide anything outside of that at all.In fact, hes a negative anywhere besides when hes putting the puck in the net. I'm not paying what he'll want for 30-35 goals and no other contribution while giving up a lot of good assets in the process

 

[ShippinItDaily]

Laine is elite. Would love him here but we have one and a half center's on this team and doubt either would be moved or even wanted by that shitty ass jets org. I know we bad and all for the last few years but how can you have the talent Wpg has and still not do Jack shit. f*** that team. Hope they lose him for nothing.

Maybe because some of these guys aren't as good as they appear to be? Good offensive threats, but quite obviously bad away from the puck. Their D needed a major overhauling as well.

I think I'd pass on Laine, unless the asset exchange was just so obvious in my favour. I'd prefer this team build a play-driving core and then fit in some skilled specialists later on. Mike Hoffman is an elite shooter and PP weapon and he is still sitting and waiting for a contract. A winger like him won't be terribly difficult to acquire down the line. Laine is better, but he has clear and apparent flaws and I don't see an urgency to acquire a player like him at this stage.

 

[SirloinUB]

Would love to have Laine although I wouldn't sell the farm for him. I think Laine is the kind of player you add to a preexisting core, I don't see him as a player that you build a team around. He brings skill but it seems like he has stains on his compete / team player attitude.

I think getting a 22 year old with a 40 goal season is always the priority but I would rather be adding him to a team instead of building a team with him if that makes any sense. But in that first proposal we are really only losing Zadina and I think you trade Zadina for Laine all day long. But let's be real 30 other teams are going to beat that deal.

In all honesty when I first saw this thread title before I knew what it was about I was like nope, I wouldn't hate it I just worry about what is going the other way to make it happen.

Exactly. Unless Lindstrom, Veleno and a 2nd get the deal done trading for Laine would be a lot like the Leafs building around Phil Kessel, where We’d have to ship out our best assets to acquire him and he’d have very little support moving forward. I just don’t see a way where this actually makes sense from a team building perspective. That’s not a knock on Laine. The reality is just that trading for him would likely leave the stables empty so it’s one step forward and two steps back.

 

[ShippinItDaily]

Exactly. Unless Lindstrom, Veleno and a 2nd get the deal done trading for Laine would be a lot like the Leafs building around Phil Kessel, where We’d have to ship out our best assets and he’d have very little support. I just don’t see a way where this actually makes sense from a team building perspective. That’s not a knock on Laine. The reality is just that trading for him would likely leave the stables empty.

Acquiring for that is a pipe dream. I would give a lot more than that to acquire him and I'm on the side of not thinking it is a particularly good idea.

 

[PajamaBoy]

Maybe because some of these guys aren't as good as they appear to be? Good offensive threats, but quite obviously bad away from the puck. Their D needed a major overhauling as well.

I think I'd pass on Laine, unless the asset exchange was just so obvious in my favour. I'd prefer this team build a play-driving core and then fit in some skilled specialists later on. Mike Hoffman is an elite shooter and PP weapon and he is still sitting and waiting for a contract. A winger like him won't be terribly difficult to acquire down the line. Laine is better, but he has clear and apparent flaws and I don't see an urgency to acquire a player like him at this stage.

True

 

[ShanahanMan]

This is stupid. In a healthy year, Mantha could put up points that challenge Laine. And they went to throw in Zadina and a second rounder too? Give me a break.

More realistic proposal would be Mantha and maybe a third rounder straight up.

 

[SirloinUB]

Acquiring for that is a pipe dream. I would give a lot more than that to acquire him and I'm on the side of not thinking it is a particularly good idea.

I agree. But thats the crux of my point. I just don’t see a realistic trade that actually makes this team better.