The Montreal Canadiens head coach will have fresh reinforcements this season, expect him to raise the bar.
Karine Hains from The Hockey News and Marko Larabie from Hockey Nation Live Show discuss the Laine trade.
With training camp fast approaching and the news that broke out on Monday, the Montreal Canadiens head coach must be raring to go. Martin St-Louis who was a talented offensive forward in his playing days will be looking forward to experimenting with his new weapon Patrik Laine.
St-Louis is not a system coach, he's a concept coach who advocates for reads from his players rather than using preconceived deployments. Not every player is used to this and players with a high hockey IQ are more likely to succeed playing in those conditions. Enter Laine.
Of course, as one can expect, Laine's better in the offensive zone than in the defensive zone, but that shouldn't be a problem for the coach. As much as he likes turning his charges into complete players (see Caufield, Cole), I dare say it won't be the idea of making the new Canadiens' acquisition a better defensive player that will have him excited this season.
While the top line of Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky looked set in stone not so long ago, you can expect the head coach to make some experiments during training camp. It's worth remembering that before Kirby Dach went down with a season ending injury in the fourth period of the season last year, he and Slafkovsky were gelling along really well on the second line.
There's no reason why Laine shouldn't get an audition on the top line, that's what training camp and those six preseason games are for. Not that I expect St-Louis to get rid of any kind of meritocracy when drawing his lineup, but as the coach, he's got to get the most complete picture of the arsenal he's got on his hands.
I also expect the bench boss to keep developing his "rookie whisperer" aura and have a big hand in the development of this crop of new hopefuls. Of course, he'll keep working with Joshua Roy, but I also believe he'll have a hands on approach with both Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux. Granted, they're not guaranteed to make the lineup, but the fact Jordan Harris and Jonathan Kovacevic have been sent packing sure increases the likelihood, that and the "I-word." That's the one word the Habs' brass should avoid using this season. The one that can land you in the infirmary. They have tried everything else for this team to stay healthy, why not give this a shot?
I also expect the pilot to work his magic with Laine. We've all heard that what landed the big Finn in the Player Assistance Program was his tendency to get down on himself when the going got tough. I honestly believe St-Louis will be much more apt to prevent that than say John Tortorella who coached Laine in Columbus during his first season or Brad Larsen who had learned his trade under the aforementioned tough bench boss.
St-Louis still being tight with Tortorella though, he will definitely be giving his old coach a call to get his take on his new winger. If Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton did their due diligence before pulling the trigger on the deal, it's also safe to assume the coach will do the exact same thing, which should also involve speaking to Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent, who was in the same organization as Laine for a few years, making stops in both Winnipeg (although in the AHL) and Columbus in 2021 as an assistant coach first and head coach last season.
Finally, and most importantly, I expect the head coach to ask more of both himself and his players. Laine's acquisition is proof the organization will soon be asking for results and not just development, but I believe both the coach and the players are looking forward to turning that corner.
