Hockey

5-on-5 play: Kent Hughes helped Patrik Laine this summer
Félix Forget
5-on-5 play: Kent Hughes helped Patrik Laine this summer
Credit: Getty Images

Patrik Laine came to Montreal just over a year ago. At the time, the Finn wanted to leave Columbus… and in Montreal, they seized the opportunity to acquire at low cost a player who has already demonstrated that he is capable of making an impact in the NHL.He is, after all, one of the best pure scorers in the Bettman circuit. And we saw it last year: despite injuries and rust, he scored 20 goals in just 52 games.That said, Laine hasn't been the talk of the town. And the reason is quite simple: at 5-on-5, he seriously struggled, and Kent Hughes clearly realized that. In an interview with La Presse, the Habs GM mentioned that he focused on this issue this summer, taking the time to intervene with Laine on the subject.It's rare for the GM to do such a thing (although he did it with Juraj Slafkovský at the start of the season last year), but he felt the need to do so.

Hughes explains that this isn't a bad thing (he wasn't going to say otherwise, of course): he just wanted to make sure he had a chat with his player to let him know what was expected of him and to make sure the message got through.

The GM is clear: he wants Laine's priority to be to play well at 5-on-5 and not to score 40 goals at all costs.It's interesting to see Hughes mention all this in the light of the fact that Laine's greatest strength is scoring goals. They seem to be trying to get him to adjust his identity a little and focus on details that will help him be a better player, even if it diminishes his offensive production.That said, you'd think the GM's involvement wasn't for nothing: with Laine just a few months away from becoming a free agent (and having expressed his desire to stay in town beyond this season), hearing this message from the guy you'll be negotiating your next contract with must help get the message across, y'know.

This year, Laine will start his season at the same time as everyone else, and he'll be less rusty than he was last year after a normal summer of practice.Let's see if his GM's message will prompt him to adjust his game now.

'Overtime'

– New contract : Lane Hutson and the Habs spoke again today. Nothing imminent, though.

– The mood is clearly good.

– Adrian Kempe: nothing imminent.

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