I’d rather Habs just keep Caufield and let him become the big goal scorer than give up those assets and pay Laine that $.

Laine isn't worth that haul

That's an over payment for Laine. I have said it in a couple posts but the biggest thing is the fact that Laine is not worth the money he wants, if it was $8 million over 8 years I could live with that but it's likely $8 million on a bridge contract that ends with him making $10-$12 million in 2 years which is to much.

Cole Caufield could be just as good as Patrick Laine some day. If i'm Montreal i don't make this trade.

Man with all those picks u rather just offersheet him

thats why we cant win a Cup

then i wouldnt bother at all as logic dictatate's four 1st rounders > what i offered (to MTL anyways we draft better then WPG the last 3-4 seasons )
especially given how consistent our 1st round selections have been since hiring Eric Crawford out of VAN after he stocked their depth .

caufields the only irreplacable piece we're offering up and we're getting a Superior Goal Scorer who's just 3 years older .
if we want to win a cup this allows us a chance without screwing ourselves long term

offer sheeting Laine at 11m is just something that doesnt make sense on any level if you follow our Draft every season

Nope

you're saying that the most dominant Goal Scorer since Ovechkin was Drafted who's had no less then 30 -40 goals each season who's in Kotkanemi's Age range and can grow with him is going to be surpassed by a guy who's at Best a Kessel type scorer . (his development in the US system mimicked Kessel even surpassing him by about 20 points to become the top scorer in their system )

Kessel like Caufield is a guy who gets most of his points on the Power Play
6'4 Finnish Winger Laine on the other hand score's most of his goals at even strength and is very consistent overall in his ability to shoot .

this to me is like saying Kessel will surpass Ovechkin one day , its just based on Fantasy Hockey Pools not logic

Laine's 6th in goals scored in his first 3 seasons putting up 110 goals by age 20 with
only Ovechkin and Kucherov far ahead of him at #1 and #2 with
Mcdavid , Tavares and Mathews scoring 1-2 goals more then Laine or he'd be 3rd overall .

look at the 3 names that are in almost an identical Goal Scoring Pace and look at the contracts they just signed

Mcdavid 2 goals more in 4 more games and signed for 12.5m
Tavares 2 goals more in 3 more games and signed for 11m
Mathews 1 goal more in 25 less games and signed for 11.6m
Keeping in mind Laine ''struggled'' last year according to critics or he'd be higher
the other names above were have been consistent each of the past 3 seasons with no major issues
Mcdavid continues to hit new career highs each of the past 3 seasons
yet a 'struggling ' Laine is right on their heels despite the adversity he faced .
if i was him i'd be pissed off to


taking all this into account
Mcdavid no bridge deal
Mathews no bridge signing a 5 year deal taking him into UFA status (which is what Laine should do to get out of WPG as quick as possible like Mathews has set himself up to do )

why fans insist on paying Laine like he's less valuable then his peers is beyond me
Especially when Mathews got that and much more without half the battle Laine's going through


Laine should gets a similar contract to Mathews given he's the only player in Laine's age group who's ahead of him in the top 5 for goal scoring the past 3 years
10.5m on 5 years or 11m on 6 years makes a lot of sense and would allow him like Mathews full control as a UFA next time his contracts up

So you list off his goal scoring but ignore the rest of his game. He isnt good 5 on 5, doesnt drive play and needs a set up man to score. His goal scoring numbers are elite but thinking that he does nearly as much on the ice as any of those players is a mistake. Add on the fact that he scores most of his goals on the PP, there's been a reason Maurice had him on the 3rd line but on the 1st powerplay, but you're trying to say he should be paid like one of the top 5 centers in the league is delusional.