Patrik Laine was traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19. After sustaining a knee injury in the preseason and missing Montreal's first 24 games of the regular season, Laine is expected to make his Canadiens debut against the New York Islanders on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSGSN).
The 26-year-old forward, who is expected to play on the second line with center Kirby Dach and wing Juraj Slafkovsky, is a significant upgrade to the rebuilding Canadiens' secondary scoring and also brings one of the hardest shots in the NHL to their power play.
Per NHL EDGE stats, Laine ranked in the 91st percentile in top shot speed (98.27 miles per hour) and 90th percentile in average shot speed (65.15 mph) last season despite being limited to 18 games with Columbus. He played his final game for the Blue Jackets on Dec. 14 because of a broken clavicle and began receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28; he was cleared from the program July 26.
Laine is a bounce-back candidate who looks to return to the elite form he showed earlier in his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets. He began his career with three straight 30-goal seasons, peaking with career highs of 44 goals, 70 points and 31 power-play points in 2017-18. Laine also had more than 200 shots on goal in each of his first four NHL seasons in Winnipeg.
Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, behind Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, had his best season in terms of points per game with Columbus in 2021-22 (1.00; 56 in 56 games).
Another highlight of Laine's tenure with the Blue Jackets was his midrange game. In 2021-22, he ranked in the 94th percentile in midrange shots on goal (86) and in the 92nd percentile in midrange goals (11). In 2022-23, Laine was in the 91st percentile in midrange shots on goal (80) and in the 88th percentile in midrange goals (nine). Montreal ranks below the league average in midrange shots on goal (192) and midrange goals (23) this season and has the League's fifth-worst 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (46.4) entering Laine's debut Tuesday.
Laine also showcased his power-play potential in 2022-23, ranking in the 83rd percentile in offensive zone time percentage with the man-advantage (61.3). He's expected to start the season on the second power play with defenseman Lane Hutson, who leads NHL rookies with 15 assists in 24 games (four on power play).
The Canadiens, despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past three seasons, have one of the best long-term wing outlooks in the NHL with Cole Caufield (16 goals this season; tied for third in League entering Tuesday), Slafkovsky (No. 1 pick in 2022 NHL Draft), Laine and Ivan Demidov (No. 5 pick in 2024 NHL Draft).
With the Canadiens' top line of Nick Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky accounting for 34.9 percent of their goals last season (81 out of 232), the addition of Laine should make them a much more competitive team under coach Martin St. Louis. The move could also help Laine to get his career back on track if he stays healthy and sticks with any of Montreal's high-scoring forwards at even strength and either defenseman Mike Matheson or Hutson on the power play moving forward.
---
More: EDGE stats for Patrik Laine
