Could the Canadiens Get Inside Information on Laine?

With Pascal Vincent now in the organization, Kent Hughes can get first-hand information on the sniper.

It's been said time and time again this off-season, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes would have liked to improve his top-six this off-season. So far, he has not managed to do so, unless of course SKA St. Petersburg agrees to accept compensation to end Ivan Demidov's contract and let him come to North America a year early. Co-directors of scouting Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov both seem to believe he could make the jump right to the NHL.

There have been numerous rumors about potential trades; Martin Necas, Trevor Zegras, Rutger McGroarty and yes, even Patrik Laine. It appears whenever a player becomes available, somebody somewhere writes about them being targeted by the Canadiens. 

It's a well-known fact though that Hughes keeps his cards close to his chest and so far, when he has traded for a player, nobody has been able to see it coming. Of course, things could be different this time around, but there's no guarantees. 

Still, if the rumors about Laine are true, the Canadiens have just added, in new Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent, someone who could have the lowdown on the Finnish forward. 

Although Laine arrived with the Winnipeg Jets while Vincent was coaching the team's AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose, the coach was still in the same organization. Both men left Manitoba in 2020-2021 to join the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the first two seasons, the assistant coach was able to observe Laine's play and character over the course of 111 games. 

Then, Vincent was appointed as the Blue Jackets' head coach and worked with Laine for 18 more games before the left winger called time on his season, entering the NHLPA Player Assistance Program. 

It was a tough year for the forward who suffered a concussion four games in, then returned briefly before missing three games with an illness in December. Then, on Dec 14, he was injured in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when he broke his clavicle. 

If Hughes is indeed interested in the forward, he'll know who to ask for his take about him. To be fair, I struggle to see how the Canadiens' GM could bring him aboard. Yes, he has talent and probably hasn't even reached his true ceiling, but there's a risk there.

He did once put up 44 goals on the board and 70 points but that was in his sophomore season six years ago. However, in his two best abbreviated seasons in Columbus, he performed well. In 2021-2022 he put up 56 points in as many games. The following season, he had 52 points in 55 games. 

Laine has got two years left on a four-year with an $8.7 M AAV after which he will be a UFA. If he decides to test the market after those year, the team that acquires him would have given some assets for two seasons. Furthermore, with that cap hit, he would instantly become the highest paid player on the team and that might not sit well with the team's homegrown talent. It's not as if he's showed much more than captain Nick Suzuki in his NHL career so far.

Time will tell if Hughes has any interest or perhaps it won't if he tries to acquire him and fails. In any case though, any trade will have to wait since the player is still with the player assistance program and no team, not even the Jackets can talk to him until he gets out.