While the Montreal Canadiens have been out of the playoffs since April, 30, one Hab has been keeping a close eye on the Stanley Cup Final. 27-year-old Finnish sniper Patrik Laine attended Game 6 of the Final last night to see his friend Aleksander Barkov lift the Stanley Cup for the second time of his career.
The Florida Panthers put on a dominating performance last night, suffocating the Edmonton Oilers for a second consecutive year. In the 5-1 win, Barkov spent over 20 minutes on the ice, recorded a pair of assists, blocked two shots, and finished his night with a plus-three rating.
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Laine and Barkov both hail from the same Finnish town of Tampere, and both played for Tappara Tampere before being drafted second overall in the respective drafts. Barkov, who is two years younger, was selected by the Panthers in 2013, while Laine was picked by the Winnipeg Jets in 2015.
Since then, Barkov has played 804 regular-season games with the Cats, putting up 782 points. He’s also played 94 playoff games, registering 81 points in the process and reaching the Cup Final three consecutive times. He won the big prize twice, becoming the first European captain to win the Cup more than once (Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Alex Ovechkin, and Gabriel Landeskog have all won it once as captain). Whatever happens next for Barkov, he has already cemented his place in Panthers history and has become a fantastic two-way center, winning three Frank J. Selke Trophies.
Meanwhile, Laine has played for three different teams, being traded twice after requesting to leave both the Jets and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has played 532 games, picking up 421 points and 224 goals in the process. The Canadiens’ sniper has played in 26 playoff games and gathered 17 points, including eight goals. In 2017-18, he finished with 44 goals, just five short of Maurice Richard Trophy Winner Alexander Ovechkin.
Perhaps witnessing his friend’s triumph will inspire the enigmatic Finn, who’s going to be playing the final year of his $8.7 M per year contract this season. It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens move him at the deadline, stay put and are okay with losing him for nothing, given the fact he didn’t cost them much, or if Kent Hughes will try to sign him to a new contract with a sizeable pay cut.
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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