Patrik Laine Trade Could Improve Specific Area For The Canadiens

There’s a lot to like about the trade that saw Jordan Harris join the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Patrik Laine and a second-round pick.

Harris is a very underrated player, but the fact of the matter is that the Canadiens already had a bevy of talented, left-handed defenceman in place. And while NHL teams would be well-served to drop their level of concern regarding the handedness of defencemen, when the Habs tried Harris on the right side he struggled mightily to retrieve pucks, which mitigated much of his value in transition.

That’s perfectly normal for a young player, and I have no doubt Harris has the potential to become a key player for the Blue Jackets, however, it’s also clear the Canadiens used a position of strength to potentially address a decade-long area of weakness. With Lane Hutson expected to take the next step and play in the NHL next season, the left side of the defence is incredibly deep, especially once we consider Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Arber Xhekaj, Adam Engstrom, and Jayden Struble, among others, are left-handed.

You Have To Make Moves

I’d like to remind everyone the Canadiens’ history of acquiring star players is, well, limited, to say the least. The franchise has been paralyzed by a lack of action when it comes to building a winner over the last 10+ years, perhaps even the last three decades. This strategy ignores that risk management also has to evaluate the risk involved in not making any decisions that could potentially backfire. Risk is impossible to avoid, but if you want to take a ride on the riverboat, you eventually have to go down to the river rather than worrying that paying for a ticket could limit your future options, because that would lead to the status quo as your ultimate goal, a sin in professional sports.

There’s a saying that suggest it’s much better to be safe than sorry, but that really only applies to simply things, such as crossing the street, or avoiding the restaurant that reportedly has delicious food but has been a popular spot for the health inspector. In sports, it’s no better to be safe than sorry. There are no awards for finishing the year with cap space, an expiring asset.

That being said, the Canadiens still mortgaged a part of their future to acquire present-day reinforcements, which puts a certain amount of pressure on Patrik Laine to perform. Despite the narrative surrounding the 26-year-old winger, he still knows how to make an impact in the offensive zone, as evidenced by his 117 points in 129 games while he was labelled as an ‘underperformer’, which equates to a .91 points per game pace. Nick Suzuki, the Canadiens’ most productive player, scored 204 points in 246 points over the course of the last three seasons, which is an 0.83 points per game pace.

I don’t want to suggest Laine is the better player, because Suzuki’s excellence also extends to the defensive zone, but the idea Laine should no longer be considered a top-end forward is disconnected from reality. More than anything, social media has led to folks making dramatic declaration that gain traction because we live in an age when level-headed opinions are largely ignored in favour of outlandish comments.

To put a fine point on the exaggeration level involved in analyzing Laine, he had the same scoring pace as Zach Hyman, Roope Hintz, John Tavares, and Mathew Barzal in the last three years, which happened to coincide with Laine’s health issues and his decision to enter the NHL/NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program. It’s worth noting that he was the 73rd most productive player in the league in that time frame according to his points per game pace, connoting that he also produced at a first-line rate. If we only focus on his 5v5 production, Laine had a 2.25 points per 60 scoring rate in the last three years, good enough for 52nd in the entire NHL.

Patrik Laine goal vs the Habs last year 😅

pic.twitter.com/m9ZdJ8EWwv

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) August 20, 2024

The Advantage Of Patrik Laine On The Power Play

In those very same seasons, the Canadiens sported the second-to-last powerplay in the league, with a paltry 15.8 percent efficiency. Only the Philadelphia Flyers had worst results, scoring on 13.4 percent of their man advantages. The Habs will need a semi-functional powerplay if they hope to one day make the playoffs, and that’s an area where Laine can certainly help.

He was given very little powerplay time last season, but prior to that, he scored five and eight powerplay goals in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively, while adding a respectable number of assists. 30 powerplay points during that time frame, which included less than 200 minutes on the man-advantage per season, as they were cut short due to injuries.

His powerplay production was 4.79 points per 60 in those two ‘down’ seasons, which was third overall on the Blue Jackets, behind Johnny Gaudreau and Jakub Veracek. It was much better than most scoring rates from Canadiens players, including Suzuki (4.21) and Caufield (4.06). The only player in the Habs’ lineup that scored with more regularity was Kirby Dach (4.85), though his numbers were skewed as injuries prevented him from playing an entire season.

Simply put, statistically speaking, Laine immediately becomes one of the Canadiens’ best options on the powerplay, and perhaps their best hope to finally ice a man-advantage lineup that will force opposing teams to worry, rather than the wet noodle offence that the team has displayed in recent years. It could also lead to, dare I say, two powerplay units that have some semblance of offensive firepower, as both Caufield and Laine will essentially play the same role: trigger man. On top of Laine being added to the mix, the Habs will also be able to count on Hutson, one of the most skilled powerplay quarterbacks in the NCAA.

Of course, we may be getting ahead of ourselves, but if Laine can provide even a modicum of creativity in the offensive zone while the Habs have a man advantage, not only will the team be better off in the standings, they’d stop having to overcome the loss of momentum that comes with a lifeless powerplay.

All Montreal Canadiens and Patrik Laine statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.