The habs will take their time with Patrik Laine (and that’s a good thing)

Marc-Olivier Cook
The habs will take their time with Patrik Laine (and that’s a good thing)
Credit: Getty Images

Patrik Laine's situation is a little complicated.

The forward seems to be on the verge of a return to action, having been practicing in a regular jersey for several days. But the Habs have to make a decision with him, because there's a surplus of forwards in Montreal right now.

It also makes you wonder what the Habs want to do with the Finn. We know he can help on the powerplay, but for the rest… it's more difficult.

Eric Engels summed it up well in a recent article(Sportsnet): the Canadiens are going to take their time with Laine because they have the luxury of being able to do so.

They have the luxury of being able to wait a while because the current players are performing well in the lineup. And in the meantime, it can also allow the forward to be really, really ready to make his return to the game when the time comes.

The point is, we have to ask ourselves where we can place Laine in the Montreal line-up.

Because right now, there's no one who really deserves to give up his spot. Especially to a guy who can't play five-on-five and has trouble keeping up with the speed of play in today's NHL.

That's going to be a problem. And again, that's why the Canadiens are better off taking their time with the forward, because there's no rush right now.

It's almost impossible to predict what's going to happen with Patrik Laine.

But, all in all, what happens next looks interesting… because the Canadiens will have a choice to make. Laine can help at certain levels on the ice, but we know what doesn't work with him either.

And we know that the Habs can't have passengers on the team when they're fighting for a playoff spot. That complicates things…


Overtime

– Good question.

– Interesting.

– Really?

– To be continued.

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