Hockey

Tony Marinaro: In the best-case scenario, a 40-goal season for Laine is possible
Marc-Olivier Cook
Tony Marinaro: In the best-case scenario, a 40-goal season for Laine is possible
Credit: Getty Images

Patrik Laine scored 20 goals in his first season with the Canadiens.Actually… I'll start my sentence again. Patrik Laine scored 20 goals in his first season with the Canadiens, playing just 52 games. By not having a regular line-up. With an injury-plagued knee. And yet, he helped the Habs earn their ticket to the spring dance. With better support and health, he might have been able to put in even more. And that's what Tony Marinaro said on the latest episode of his Sick Podcast. Without saying he sees Laine scoring 40 goals next season… Marinaro seems to think there's a world in which the Finn can score 40. The stars have to align: Laine needs to arrive at camp fit, he needs to stay healthy… and he needs to take advantage of the talent of Ivan Demidov – and Kirby Dach, if it works out – to produce even more.

Do I believe it? Not necessarily. Because there's one thing I'm not sure about: Laine might not play on the top-6 if Zachary Bolduc explodes, and Laine might lose his spot on the 1st wave of the powerplay with the emergence of a guy like Demidov. That said, we know the big sniper has the shot and the skills to pull off a feat like this. If that happens, the Habs could have two excellent scorers in Caufield and Laine… and Tony Marinaro makes a good point of mentioning it: if these two guys are able to fill the net, the Canadiens are going to have a wicked good chance of making the playoffs.Especially in the context that the Canadiens are the only club in their division to actually be better – on paper – than they were last season.

I can't wait to see how Laine performs, because he'll have to work hard to be an important player in Montreal next season. But then again: if the stars align… anything's possible, considering the talent in Montreal right now.

'Overtime'

– Oh yeah?

– I agree.

– Rightly so.

– Seen the same.

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