This is a GAMBLE worth taking...

This is a gamble worth taking as Patrick Laine is still available to be signed as a free agent. In this video, we're going to talk about why Patrick Laine is worth going out and spending money on to bring to your team and talk about some teams that have been linked to him. So you're not going to miss this episode of NHL Digest. Before we dive into everything, just want to say we're on the road to 20,000 subscribers here. If you're new, make sure to go down below, hit that subscribe button. It's completely free to do so. We'll keep you up to date on the latest news around the NHL. We're home for it here on YouTube as well. So let's dive right into the Patrick Laine stuff today because I'm a bit surprised myself that Patrick Laine is still available to be signed this far into the season. I thought that a team would swoop him up before we got into the regular season, but it hasn't happened. And Patrick Laine still has a lot of value to add to a lot of these teams that need a goal scoring spark and a power play scoring spark. So let's dive into everything Patrick Laine coming up on this video. So let's dive into it here first. obviously we say Patrick Laine still searches for a team he's still waiting to be signed and like I mentioned Patrick Laine is a great player here obviously last year he only got into five games before getting injured he had one point but the year previous he had a good resurgence he scored 20 goals and he had 15 of them on the power play he was fourth in power play goals that year for the Montreal Canadiens and really helped their power play percentage uh drastically and And just had a great season for them. Obviously, offensively, you know what you're getting with Patrick Laine. He's not the best defensive player. He's not the fastest player. But he's a guy that, when he gets into his spot, he has just one of the best shots in the league and can pick those corners, beat goaltenders with ease. And he has such a deceptive shot, and that's why he's so good. And that's what he brings to the table. You know what you're getting for him. And you really don't have to go out and splash a lot of cash to go out and get a player like Patrick Laine. And we see here, 24-25, he scored 20 goals. Obviously, surgery disrupted his season last year. And now, Detroit and Calgary are interested in bringing him in this year. Obviously, like I said, it's a little bit of a gamble to go out and get this player because you could go get him and he gets into a couple of games and he gets injured again. Or, you know, you get this player, he comes in, he scores like 15 goals for you this season and you're happy with it. So, I definitely think it's a risk worth taking for a lot of these teams that got a little bit of cap space to work for sure. And obviously, that's what Laine had to say. He said, I just kind of need an opportunity to kind of show people that I can still do it and so I can still score goals. And I definitely think a lot of teams around the league right now could use a target man on their power play for sure. And I'm excited to see Patrick Laine get back out there in the NHL. Obviously, he hasn't really had the career that we all thought he would be when he was drafted, but he's had a solid career. He's a great goal scorer. He's had some great seasons early in his career. and has really dealt with injury over the later half of his career. But I still think he's a player who can get into any lineup and really score a lot of goals on the power play for a team. And, you know, I think he's pretty effective five-on-five myself. I like him, and obviously there is a little bit of a risk. Obviously, he's nearly a year without playing an NHL game. I mean, that's a big risk to take, too. Maybe a team maybe signs him. Maybe they put him onto a contract. He goes, has a stint in the AHL before coming up. But personally, I think he just comes into the NHL right away. I think he's ready, to be honest with you guys. He said he was ready at the end of last season to come back in. Montreal didn't want to put him into their playoff roster. But, you know, he is ready to get back out and play the game. Obviously, his health and game pace must be assessed before coming in and playing again. And then power play reduction does not prove 5-on-5 impact. You know, obviously, he's going to perform on the power play. He's going to score goals when he's set up. but you know there is that gray area with the five on five if he can really still be that goal score and still get to his spot against some of these top teams defenses but I really have a lot of faith in line and I think he's a guy who could come in and make an impact on any team and we see here he still he has a sensible deal right he can sign a league minimum deal with bonuses where like they could have like a 15 goal bonus he gets x amount of millions of money and that's how he makes earns his money and he he has to go out earn it right so i think that's a really great option for a lot of these teams obviously has one year to prove himself a defined shooting role manageable guaranteed salary bonuses must be budgeted 100 like i said like you can get this guy in for a million dollars and you can have like three or four million dollars bonuses worked into his contract and if he hits them all then you're willing to go out and spend that money for him right so i like this a lot and first team we're going to kind of talk about today is the detroit Red Wings, a team that kind of needs a little bit of a spark offensively right now, in my opinion, and they should revisit Patrick Laine here, and as we see here, Pierre Lebrun reported there was internal discussions about going out and signing Patrick Laine, Larkin, Edmondson decisions obviously come first for them, they've got to trade Larkin, they've got to extend Edmondson, but in the meantime, I definitely think that Laine could be a quick and easy signing for them to kind of fix their lineup, get a guy in here that can, you know, for of like a million dollars who can come in and provide an offensive spark on the power play unit and obviously looking at their cap right now they do have the sign evanson which is rumored around to be like 10 to 11 million dollars so they would still have about four or five million of dollars of cap space left after that extension so they really only need one million for line a right now maybe two uh with some bonuses so i think it's it's a great deal for them and one that they should go definitely go after looking at detroit's power play this is from last season They were 22.6% on the power play last year, which was pretty solid. That's pretty solid power play numbers, in my opinion. But, you know, getting him in this year would definitely make those numbers go up and make their power play more effective. They need to win these crucial games this year if they want a chance at getting back into the playoffs. And a guy like Laine is a guy who can come in, score these game-winning goals for teams, and just put teams on his backs at times. obviously you know that downside is the injury perspective but I definitely think he has a higher upside than a higher downside so I definitely think it's definitely worth the risk for them and obviously you know he gives him a sheltered offensive line plan where his one-timers fit and avoid duplicating Dabrinkic's role so you know just try to find something that you know we have a Patrick Laine plan in place before signing him said okay this is where he's going to go this is what his role is going to be he's not going to come in and overshadow a guy like Debrinkit who plays that role really well but you know I think that obviously getting him in here on the third line playing with a guy like Kopp and Kolasar would definitely work for line A because he really needs someone who can move him the puck and I think Kopp and Kolasar are both efficient movers of the puck and can get him when he gets to his spot and I think he really fit in with them five on five for sure and here's kind of the verdict that we kind of cooked up for Detroit's you know signing of line 8. He's the best overall option if minutes exist. It's a short deal with clear expectations. Do not sign him simply because there's his cap room. You want to have a role for him. Just, you know, obviously if you're going to go out and sign him, you want to have a place in the lineup. You want to have a, you know, a line 8 game plan going into this of where he's going to fit on the power play and stuff like this. And I think that's maybe why some teams haven't signed him yet is because they're trying to figure out where they're going to put him. So let's move on to Calgary because I think Calgary is a great fit for him. It's a lower tier team that he can really come in here. They're a team that's not expected to play good. He can try to increase his stock, get traded at the deadline on a cheap deal to a contending team that could really need him. And that's kind of like the deal I like for the Calgary Flames. Obviously, LeBron reports internal consideration of Line A. Obviously, the big thing here is they want to get their young players to still play, get the opportunity to obviously consider their potential and getting to their potential and stuff like this in their development. So, obviously, you don't want Lani to come in and take a young guy's spot right away, which I think is interesting. But, obviously, Calgary got a lot of cap space. They got, like, $15 million. They can easily afford a guy like Patrick Lani on a one-year deal, kind of a prove-it deal. Like I said, that you can flip at the deadline. If you can get, like, a fourth or fifth-round pick for Lani at the deadline, you know, you kind of take it depending on where he's at and obviously what his numbers are at that point and if he's healthy. Obviously, Calgary does have a scoring need. Their power play was 16% last year, which is god-awful. They need a guy like Laine that can come in here, be a target man, get in his spot, wire pucks in the back of the net for this team, just increase their overall offense and their special teams. So I think that would be a great fit. Obviously, use him as a power play shooting option, compare him with the puck distributor, and keep meaningful minutes for Caranato as well. I do see him coming in here on this third line with Strom and Pospisil. I definitely think those guys are definitely efficient playmakers and could get Line A some goals on a 5-on-5 situation. Obviously, he's going to come into this power play and just, you know what he's going to do. He's going to score goals, right? And that's what you want out of him. And I definitely think it would give Flames fans something to be excited about going into the last year of the Saladome. So obviously you need the strongest direct power play you need for getting Patrick Lani. You don't want to stunt the development of these up-and-coming players. So just finding a spot for him in this lineup would be great. And I think he would definitely help the Calvary Flames out going forward. I don't think it would get him into the playoffs or anything like this, but I definitely think it would give the crowd and the fans a little bit more to cheer for when he's out on the ice. And the last team we're going to talk about today is Los Angeles Kings. Should they explore a Patrick Laine signing? Let's talk about it here because there has been reported interest from October 3rd that LA was interested in signing Patrick Laine. Obviously, it's a report of interest, and it's not a completed deal at this point, but I definitely think, obviously, they have the cap space for him. They have about $1.8 million in cap room right now to bring in Patrick Laine. I think, like I said, sign him in a one-year deal, a $1 million deal as well with bonuses. The bonuses would come on your cap next year, but I don't think you worry about that. If you've got a chance to bring in Patrick Laine, it would definitely be the way to go about it. Looking at the Kings power play last year, 17% god-awful as well. You really need to get those numbers up when you get an extra man advantage. Bringing in Patrick Laine here for a cheap option to be the target man on this power play would be great for them. Would boost their numbers up, would boost their wins up as well. A team that desperately needs to have a good season. bringing in Patrick Laine would definitely make them more of a suitable contender in my eyes because they have a guy there that on a semi-nightly basis or sporadically nightly basis can score goals. And he can score a hat-trick some nights, right? That's just the player Laine is, and that's the upside that comes with signing a guy like Patrick Laine. And obviously, you need to give him a defined shooting assignment, budget, salary, and potential bonuses as well for him. and then obviously you know uh you know my landing spot ranking is obviously detroit is the best overall if the role opens cowries the clearest power play need in la is a compelling fit at a tighter price like i said if they can get them at a shorter at a at a shorter number there obviously a lower number on that one-year deal with the bonuses i think it would be a great fit in la i think having him on the third line with holla and more would be great you could shift more from the left to the right and have patrick line a on his natural position on the left wing i think holla is a proficient playmaker enough, a good passer enough to get Laine the puck when he is open. And I definitely think that for the LA Kings is my favorite destination for him because they desperately need somebody to revamp this power play. And Patrick Laine is the guy to go out and get for this. So I'd like to hear your guys' thoughts down below in the comment section. Who do you think is the best fit for Patrick Laine? Do you think it's Detroit? Do you think it's Calgary? Do you think it's LA? Let me know in the comment section while you're down there. Do you think there's any other teams that would use the abilities of Patrick Laine? Let me know down below in the comments where your dream destination for is for him as well. But right now, leave a like, subscribe to the channel. As always, I'm your host, KC. Keep your stick on the ice.