Zizing ‘Em Up: Finland's faith in Laine rewarded ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up.”

TORONTO -- Patrik Laine’s success in the face of adversity has to be one of the best, if not the top, feel-good story of the NHL season to date.

Don’t take our word for it. Instead, consider the opinion of Jere Lehtinen, the general manager of Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal and Boston Feb. 12-20.

A few eyebrows were raised when Finland announced Laine as part of its roster on Dec. 4, one day after the hard-shooting forward made his Montreal Canadiens debut after missing the first two months of the regular season with a sprained left knee sustained during a collision with Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Cedric Pare in a preseason game in September.

Weren’t they taking a chance here? Was it not a gamble selecting a player who had played only one game all season? How could they be certain there would be no setback with his knee in the two months between the selection process and the opening face-off of the tournament?

“Look, there are no guarantees,” Lehtinen said in a phone interview from Finland. “But we were in regular contact with him during his rehab. We knew where he was mentally and physically.

“For us, it was a no-brainer. And look at him now.”

Given the sizzling run the 26-year-old is on right now, Lehtinen and his staff were right all along, barring injury.

“To be fair, we could not have predicted how quickly he got up to speed,” Lehtinen said.

Who, if anyone, could have?

Consider Laine’s accomplishments to date since returning from injury, all coming this month.

-- He has nine points (eight goals, one assists) in nine games for the Canadiens this season.

-- He scored his fifth power-play goal in three games to help Montreal defeat the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Saturday.

-- He is the first NHL player since 1933-34 to score eight consecutive team power-play goals. Phil Esposito (1970-71) and Bronco Horvath (1959-60) each scored seven consecutive Boston Bruins power-play goals, and Nels Stewart scored seven straight by the New York Americans in 1936-37.

-- Laine is the fifth player to score his first eight goals with a franchise on the power play. He joined Risto Siltanen (10) of the Quebec Nordiques, Marek Zidlicky (10) of the Minnesota Wild, Dwight Bialowas (eight) of the Minnesota North Stars and Victor Olofsson (eight) of the Buffalo Sabres.

“His shot is so effective, especially on the power play,” Lehtinen said. “We hope it will be like that in the tournament. … Patrik was very determined to come back from that injury. It was just another piece of adversity he’s had to overcome.”

Indeed, there has been no shortage of bumps in the road for Laine, who was selected No. 2 by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Laine had 388 points (204 goals, 184 assists) in 480 games with the Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets, and 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games, when he was traded to the Canadiens along with a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for defenseman Jordan Harris on Aug. 19.

Laine played his final game for the Blue Jackets on Dec. 14, 2023, 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.

He then requested a trade from the Blue Jackets. He was devastated at the time of the knee injury but has fought back to become one of the hottest players in the NHL.

“We’ve always known Patrik had the skills but now he seems to have his confidence back,” Lehtinen said. “That’s when he’s at his most effective, his most dangerous.

“He’s a good kid. He cares about winning. And that’s why he always was on our radar.”

They took a bit of a risk. And right now, it’s one that looks like it could pay dividends come tournament time.

STATE OF CANADIAN GOALTENDING 'SAD'

Not only do the top four goaltenders in all-time NHL wins come from Canada, they all come from the province of Quebec.

Indeed, Martin Brodeur (691) leads the pack by 124 victories followed by Marc-Andre Fleury (567), Patrick Roy (551) and Roberto Luongo (489). Brodeur and Luongo, in fact, grew up one neighborhood apart in the Montreal suburbs.

My, how times have changed.

Heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off, goaltending is considered the biggest question mark for Canada. The team hierarchy is hoping that one of Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues), Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal Canadiens).

It’s a far cry from the two-plus decade stretch starting in the mid-1990s when the likes of Roy, Brodeur, Fleury, Luongo, Carey Price and Curtis Joseph were always among the top goalies in the game.

Roy doesn’t know exactly what has happened to the state of Canadian goaltending. At the same time, he isn’t shy to candidly air his disappointment about the situation.

“At this point, it’s sad,” Roy said in a 1-on-1 with NHL.com on Saturday. “I mean that from the standpoint of how our strength in the League was once goaltending. And I mean that at the junior level too.

“Again, it’s sad to see where this is going. But at the same time, I do believe that people will find a solution to help out.”

Roy, the coach of the New York Islanders, began noticing the disturbing trend during his tenure as coach of Quebec of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2018-2023.

“Why has this happened? I have no idea. I wish I could tell you,” Roy said. “I don’t know what it is. I guess it’s a trend.

“There was a time when kids here wanted to be goalies. Now they want to be goalies and defensemen. So, it’s hard to explain. Is it a lack of development, in that regard, from minor hockey? I don’t know. And I certainly don’t want to throw a jab at these people. I mean, everyone’s trying hard. Everyone wants to develop the best they can.”

Perhaps one of the issues is: If you are a kid in your early years of minor hockey in Canada, which goalie in the NHL right now do you look to as an idol, a mentor.

“When I was growing up, I would look up to goalies like [Dan] Bouchard, (Rogie Vachon), those guys,” Roy said. “And when I played, some younger guys would look up to me or Marty or Luongo, those guys, and Fleury now.

“It’s hard to understand. I guess it’s up to them to want young players to want to play the position.”

One last question for Roy, the same one jokingly posed to Brodeur last month. That is, any chance he’d come out of retirement to join Team Canada?

To no one's surprise, his answer was the same as Brodeur’s.

“No way,” the 59-year-old Hall of Famer said with a laugh. “It’s safer behind the bench!”

LET’S MAKE A DEAL?

The NHL trade deadline is March 7 but that doesn’t mean teams will wait until then to pull off prominent swaps. Here is a look at four teams who might be enticed to pull the trigger long before then. (Keep in mind that the NHL’s holiday roster freeze ends at 12:01 a.m. ET on Dec. 28.)

New York Rangers

As colleague Dan Rosen pointed out in his weekly mailbag last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Rangers wanted to shake things up and that they’d let teams know that forward Chris Kreider was available. One month later, the Rangers already have dealt defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks and forward Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, and they are on a 4-12-0 skid after a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Will the wheeling and dealing continue?

Buffalo Sabres

Whenever a team has lost 13 consecutive games like the Sabres have (0-10-3), speculation of an impending shakeup snowballs. Such is the case in western New York, where the natives are getting restless after 13-plus seasons of seeing their team miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs. TSN insider Darren Dreger reported last week that Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams is looking to make a significant deal.

Vancouver Canucks

There’s ongoing speculation on Canada’s left coast about an alleged rift between forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. For his part, Pettersson attempted to alleviate the rumors after Vancouver’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Arena on Saturday. “It's good. I don't know why people still try and make [stuff] up.” Question is: Do you believe the credo that if there’s smoke, there’s fire?

Nashville Predators

General manager Barry Trotz told NHL.com last month that he was told all offseason that the Predators had “won the summer” with the signings of forwards Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei. “I said at the time that it’s nothing more than fantasy hockey until we become a good team, and we haven’t done that,” Trotz said. A month later, they still haven’t. Despite a 3-2 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Kings Saturday, the Predators are 3-5-2 in their past 10 and are 10-17-7 on the season, seventh in the Central Division. Trotz says he preaches patience, but for how long?

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“It was a long road, a big mountain to climb.”

-- Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray following a 6-3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, his first NHL win in 640 days after he missed almost two years after having bilateral hip surgery

THE LAST WORD

With the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters revealed, we’ll be taking a weekly look from now until the tournament (Feb. 12-20) at one player from each country who’s on a roll with his respective NHL team.

Connor Hellebuyck, United States: The Winnipeg Jets goalie leads the NHL in shutouts with four after a 5-0 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Brad Marchand, Canada: The Boston Bruins forward extended his point streak to nine games (six goals, four assists, 10 points) in a 3-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on Saturday.

Sebastian Aho, Finland: The Carolina Hurricanes forward scored his 10th goal of the season in a 3-1 victory against the New York Rangers Sunday and has had at least one point in 12 of his past 14 games (18 points; five goals, 13 assists).

Filip Forsberg, Sweden: The Nashville Predators forward has seven points (all assists) in his past four games.