As of this morning, Patrik Laine still doesn't have an NHL contract, and his deal with the Canadiens has officially run out.
The regular season is a week away. Even if he signed tonight, nobody should expect the Finnish winger to be ready for opening night.
What's stranger is the silence. Not a single team has handed him a professional tryout, which is odd for a guy with 224 goals over his NHL career.
Elliotte Friedman floated a possible explanation on the FAN Hockey Show. He said Laine would prefer certain types of situations.
Friedman stopped short of calling him difficult. But the message landed anyway: the 28-year-old is being choosy about where he goes next.
Choosy is a tough look right now. He dressed for just five games with Montreal last season, recording one assist and going minus-3.
And he hasn't played an NHL game in close to a year. That's a long layoff for any forward, let alone one whose entire value lives in his release.
No PTO offer yet for a former 44-goal scorer
Nobody is questioning the raw talent. Laine scored 44 goals in his second NHL season with Winnipeg in 2017-18, finishing with 70 points.
Even his first year in Montreal had some finish to it, with 20 goals in 52 games. The problem was everything else, including a -14 rating.
So what exactly is he waiting for? A contender, a warmer market, and a guaranteed deal instead of a tryout are all possibilities nobody has ruled out.
His last contract carried an $8,700,000 cap hit. Whatever he's asking for now, it won't look anything like that number.
Here's the blunt part. Picking your spots is a luxury for players with leverage, and a season spent almost entirely out of the lineup doesn't build any.
It's like a restaurant that once had a two-hour wait suddenly turning away walk-ins. The reputation survived, but the line out the door didn't.
If he's comfortable sitting out a big chunk of the season until the right fit shows up, he can take all the time he wants.
But the former second overall pick doesn't get younger in the press box of his own living room. Every week without a deal makes the next pitch a little harder.
-
Somewhere around November, a team will get desperate for goals. The question is whether Laine will still be holding out for the perfect call when that one comes.
Should Patrik Laine swallow his pride and accept a PTO right now?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
A huge acquisition is confirmed for John Chayka and the Maple Leafs: Sergei Bobrovsky makes the difference
