TSN analyst Craig Button has never been known as a big Canadiens fan, but on the Laine deal he thinks he did the right thing.
TSN analyst Craig Button has never been known as a big Canadiens fan, but on the Laine deal he thinks he did the right thing.
Back in 2021, on the eve of the Montreal Canadiens - Toronto Maple Leafs series, TSN analyst's Craig Button had predicted the Habs would be swept by the Leafs. Two weeks later, the Canadiens won the first-round match-up and moved on in what was the Cinderella story of those playoffs.
This time though, he's fully on board with the Patrik Laine acquisition. While the analyst acknowledges the move is a risk, he believes it's a risk worth taking as he said on The Sick Podcast on Wednesday night. Mainly he thinks the Canadiens are in dire need of goals (and I don't think anybody can argue there) and the big Finn is a goal scorer.
Had it not been for Laine's cap hit, there would have been more suitors for his services, but with so many teams struggling to stay under the cap and Waddell not wanting to retain any money, it was harder for him to find a dance partner.
Button also seems to be looking forward to seeing some Laine vs Auston Matthews confrontations this upcoming season. He's not wrong when he says they used to be great match ups. As if Montreal Toronto games needed anything to make them more interesting.
The TSN analyst once again said the Canadiens have fully stacked shelves and not all the players they have on there right now will play for them. Some of these players will get traded to address needs in the lineup, which is exactly what happened here.
Jordan Harris would eventually have been pushed out of the roster and had Kent Hughes waited until then, he might not have received as much as he did for him. Getting Laine and a second-round pick for the defenseman was a brilliant return. Hughes wants to buy low and sell high and that's what he did once more. Button also appears to be fed up hearing GMs say that it's not easy to make trades, and you can see his point which he made quite clear; it's their job.
He definitely does not agree with those who are saying this is a mistake, he sees the deal as the Canadiens giving themselves an opportunity to improve, to grow. Laine will not impede the Habs' growth. They had an opening in their top-six and no one ready to fill it. Sure, Joshua Roy has shown some flashes of offensive flair, but I highly doubt he's about to burst into a legitimate top-six right away.
If he praised Hughes for the move made, he made his feelings about the Columbus organization quite clear, they've never looked on the cusp of winning anything and it wasn't about Patrik Laine, it was about "the mess of a management and ownership" - to quote Button- in Columbus.
While some members of the press from Toronto may not agree with the Laine move, Button most certainly does and he feels pretty strongly about it to say the least. He also adds that the Canadiens' brass has enough experience with Jeff Gorton, Hughes and Martin St-Louis all having been around the league for 25 years and enough connections to be able to get the low-down on any player they might want to around the league.
By hiring Gorton, Hughes and St-Louis, Geoff Molson seems to have hit the jackpot and be well on his way to getting this Canadiens team back where it belongs, at the top.
Related
Canadiens: About the Harris-Laine Trade
Canadiens: Une Acquisition Pure Laine
Canadiens: Bruce Boudreau Gives His Thoughts on the Laine Trade
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