Short term but you dont think if Dubois and Laine find chemistry they could grow into something special?
With Gaudreau you could hide some of his issues forming a line like Gaudreau-Dubois-Anderson here if Anderson isnt going the other way in these scenario's but overall if Jarmo actually can swing a deal for this caliber of player I hope its Laine
I suppose if the price is similar and we have some reason to think Laine will become more mature, then I'm listening. I still probably say that Gaudreau is just a plain old better player.
Gaudreau's biggest issue, by the way, is that every opponent knows the key to shutting down the Flames is to shut him down. Monahan is an inept player and can't do anything if he isn't being spoon-fed passes in the slot. If you can make Gaudreau have a bad game then the Flames will have a bad game. It doesn't help that Gaudreau is tiny, but every player can struggle if he's being double and triple teamed. The Jackets come out ahead if opponents try to double up Gaudreau and leave space for Dubois.
Gaudreau is a lite version of Panarin so I am not opposed to it, he should be a good fit to PLD, but Laine certainly has more excitement to him as he’s also a goal scorer we need
I think we get more of a goals boost from adding ace playmakers. The Jackets are positively littered with former 25 and 30 goal scorers, the goal scorers are obviously not looking so hot right now but I'd argue that's more of a function of playmaking talent. Gaudreau will have Dubois and Bjorkstrand back up over 30 goals. And don't forget that Gaudreau scored 36 goals just a year ago, he's got a fantastic shot.
I like the idea of Laine with Dubois and there is that potential for them to be a top line for many years. I don’t think he needs that Panarin-type puck carrying distributor. We saw PLD turn things up a notch in the playoffs and was able to transition the play 200 feet single handedly. Having another big body with him, and one that can score anywhere in the offensive zone, would make that line hard to handle. PLD can do the dirty work if we are really concerned with Laine’s effort level. We have never had a player that can finish quite like Laine.
(As a side note, I would be interested in any of WPG’s big five forwards.)
Yeah I was absolutely blown away by how good Dubois was in transition. I never imagined he'd be that good at it. That does make getting a transition guy less important.
Are folks expecting Laine to become a better player? Because so far his name recognition seems to greatly outpace his actual performance as a player. I don't think he's generally been an elite player like Gaudreau. Some facts behind that:
Gaudreau is a year away from a 99 point season, Laine has so far topped out at 70.
Take note of Gaudreau's IPP or individual points percentage. This is the ratio of a players points to the amount of goals his team scores when he is on the ice, it can tell you who is really carrying. Gaudreau's is off the charts, averaging over 80%, which is a number only McDavid and Kucherov rival. Laine only gets in on about 60-66% of the action, and if you know the Jets you know that Nik Ehlers runs that line.
Gaudreau is obviously the better scorer at 5v5, and I don't buy the idea that Laine would be better on the PP. This is a bit uncertain because Laine might have a whole lot more in him that we haven't seen, but he is coming off a pretty bad year on the PP. Laine scored 2.9 primary P/60 on the PP, which is Blue Jackets level. He definitely missed Big Buff, who was always an underrated PP QB and could open up lanes better than all but a few QBs in the league. It's tough to tell with powerplays because so much scoring depends on how good the overall powerplay is, but from the IPPs (and my eye) the Jets can beat you in a lot of different ways and a lot more happens with Laine just standing there, while Gaudreau is the biggest focal point on the Flames.
I've been so encouraged by Dubois' improvement in 5v5 transition, but he's still not a very good PP player, I'd want someone to come in who can not only shoot the puck but handle the puck and run the play, just take over the whole darn unit.