Canadiens: Four Nations Faceoff a Chance for Patrik Laine to Reset in midst of Uncertain Future

Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is who he is.

He doesn’t apologize for it, he doesn’t make excuses for it, and at times it seems he doesn’t feel he needs to change because of it. However, if you look at the majority of his career, most would probably think, how can you blame him?

When Laine arrived in Montreal this Summer after being acquired for little more than defenseman Jordan Harris, he came wanting a reset from what had been a troubling yet similarly promising career to that point. With the Four Nations Cup tournament currently underway (serving as a replacement for what can best be called a pathetic attempt at an All-Star game last season) Laine was chosen for Team Finland alongside fellow Hab Joel Armia, and has shown some solid flashes thus far, feeding a beautiful pass across to Mikko Rantanen in their game against Sweden on Saturday, being named tthe games second star with two assists overall.

Quite frankly, this is exactly the kind of opportunity Laine has been needing recently, and head coach Martin St. Louis, GM Kent Hughes and the rest of the Habs management are hoping it can breathe some life into a player who's recent stretch of play has left a lot to be desired. Watching him play now, it can be easy to forget who Patrik Laine was once thought and, to an extent, expected to be, and spoiler, it wasn't a player who was traded for little but a depth defenseman like Jordan Harris.

Coming out of the Finnish SM-Liiga, Laine was the second overall pick in the 2016 draft behind two-time 60-goal scorer and current Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews. As the expected second pick for most of the 2015-16 season, the Winnipeg Jets (then still trying to adjust from their former days as the Atlanta Thrashers) hoped Laine could spark their offense with his wicked release and deft scoring touch. Amidst other top picks turned well, busts like Olli Juolevi, Jesse Pulijarvi, Logan Brown, and Alex Nylander (the 2016 Draft was pretty hit and miss) Laine seemed to fit the mould of a star, posting 3-consecutive 30-goal seasons including a high of 44 in 2017-1, being a big part of the Jets run to the Conference FInals that same year. Slowly but surely, Laine began to look like the future in Winnipeg, but somewhere along the way, things changed.