Even with Josh Anderson's injury, Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis said Patrik Laine was not an option on Thursday night, but he didn't say why...
When Montreal Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes failed to trade Patrik Laine at the deadline, some still hoped that the big Finn would get back in the Habs’ lineup. Still, with Martin St-Louis counting on a fully healthy lineup and having to scratch a player like Brendan Gallagher, it seemed unlikely. Then Kirby Dach was ruled out for two to four weeks, but that just meant Zachary Bolduc and Gallagher were safe from the chop.
However, on Thursday morning, when the Canadiens announced that Josh Anderson was day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the media asked the coach whether it could be an option to activate Laine for the game against the Detroit Red Wings, and he replied, “No.” No explanation, no mention that he hasn’t been medically cleared, nothing, just “No”.
It’s now been months since he joined his teammates at practice for the first time after core muscle surgery, and for the last month, he's been practicing wearing a regular jersey. He’s not been limited at practice; he’s doing all the drills, taking contact, and looks like a player who’s fit to play, but he’s still on the injured reserve.
Is it that he hasn’t been medically cleared to play? I very much doubt that. At the trade deadline, Laine’s wife Jordan made a video about how she dealt with the trade deadline day, and at the end of it, she explained the couple’s feelings about staying in Montreal:
Patty and I love Montreal as a city, and we love the hockey environment here; it’s one of the most special organizations. This is the Mecca of hockey, and it’s such an amazing environment to play in, to be in, and the organization is absolutely incredible. That being said, we really want Patty to play. We really want to be in whatever place he can be able to do his job and do the thing that he loves to do. So, we’re crossing our fingers that he’ll get to play sometime in the rest of the season and if he does, then that’s great, amazing, and if he doesn’t, then that’s not good. I don’t think it’s a controversial thing to say that we’re hoping that my husband gets to have his spot on the roster, but we’ll see. And if Montreal is that place, then we’re more than happy to be here.
If he wasn’t fit to play right now, that’s not something she would have said. Unfortunately for Laine, he’s not known as a player who will help your team's defensive game, and right now, he’s not what St-Louis believes its team needs. The coach is talking about risk management and team defence, convincing his players to play a strategic game and take the actions that will give them the best chance of winning on both sides of the puck.
To me, that’s why Laine is not an option. St-Louis doesn’t see Laine as a player who will help him to get his team to play the right way down the stretch and in the playoffs. The coach elected to go with Joe Veleno against Detroit because he’s accepted his role and knows he won't be one of the top offensive players. Not that Laine would want a spot in the top six, but his game is just not suited to the bottom six.
In the game against the Wings, Veleno had six shot attempts, two of which found the net, one blocked shot, one giveaway and four hits in 11:14 of action. That’s not something Laine would have been able to give. In the five games he played this season, Laine had a total of just two hits. He has a big body, but he doesn’t play big, and he’s not the guy who will make a difference on the forecheck.
Last season, Laine had a spot on the team because the Habs needed offensive talent. Now, with Juraj Slafkovsky’s awakening, Oliver Kapanen’s surprising goal total, and Ivan Demidov’s play, the Canadiens have outgrown their need for Laine. While that’s a shame for the player himself, it shows just how far the Habs have come. Their rebuild is heading the right way, and they are at a stage where they need to get results and give experience to the players who are likely to be with them long-term, and that’s not Laine.
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