Mathieu Perreault: “Patrik Laine is a really good guy in the locker room”

We’ve been hearing all kinds of things about Patrik Laine since the deal that brought him to Montreal.

And it’s not all positive.

Some say he’s a bad teammate, that he has the wrong attitude and that the Habs should never have touched the guy. But there’s almost no one better placed to talk about him than Mathieu Perreault, who spent four full seasons with him in Winnipeg.

That said, Perreault was in the Poche Bleue recently and praised his former teammate.

The Québécois spoke of Laine as a good jack, a guy who’s fun to be around in a hockey locker room.

Perreault added that if Laine can regain the confidence he had in his NHL debut, he’ll be able to do great things in Montreal.

And again, Perreault knows what he’s talking about, having seen him score goals en masse in Winnipeg.

Maybe Laine didn’t relate as well to some of the guys in the room in Winnipeg and Columbus. Maybe, because not everyone can agree on the same things in life.

That said, Laine will arrive in a close-knit dressing room in Montreal.

The guys like to spend time together because that’s part of the organization’s new culture, and if Laine finds a way to fit in with the group in his own way, there won’t be any problems.

All this to say that we should wait before calling him any names, because there aren’t many people who know exactly what happened during his time in Winnipeg and Columbus.

And if Mathieu Perreault’s comments are anything to go by, there’s nothing to worry about.

Overtime

– To be continued…

Looks like Juraj Slafkovsky is on a European NHL media tour in Prague, Czechia alongside other players such as David Pastrnak & Nico Hischier. pic.twitter.com/gyTA11hnpn

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) August 21, 2024

– He looks to be in great shape.

Gabe Landeskog signing autographs after his round in the @BMWchamps Pro-Am https://t.co/tvOkr3TdQw pic.twitter.com/dkJg243oqx

– Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) August 21, 2024