[Signing] CBJ sign Laine to multi year deal (4 yrs, $8.7 mil AAV)

[Flames_F.T.W]

Must be nice to be able to re-sign players 😕

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

Regardless of who’s at centre I think Johnny is going to have a hard time even flirting with the +64 he put up last year; liane is a tire fire on half of the ice surface and the BJ’s don’t really implore that same tactful checking brand of hockey Sutter was known for. I think Johnny will see a surge in PP points but a decrease in his overall effectiveness 5v5.

Johnny plus Laine is a defensive disaster. Johnny was playing better defensively, but it was more a matter of him getting closer to pulling his own weight, and being on a line with two players who were more than pulling their own weight, particularly Lindholm who was a Selke finalist.

This does still sting though. Watching Columbus sign their UFA winger, who was about to walk. Meanwhile, our UFA who said he wanted to sign is now leaving, because Gaudreau is gone.

Edit: I'm also not hyper confident that Gaudreau/Laine will put up massive numbers. In order to be effective in the past, Gaudreau has really required two linemates capable of taking the heat off him. In situations where he only had one good linemate, Gaudreau was easily double teamed and shut down.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Chemistry is sometimes hard to predict. I still remember "Hull and Oates" and then "Gretzky and Hull".



This makes watching Gaudreau in Columbus a bit more interesting to say the least. I really wonder how they will do together. Gaudreau is smart enough to play with anyone, but can Laine stop being so lazy defensively to make this a good line? Wouldn't surprise me to see this line become a top line in the NHL, and it also wouldn't surprise me to see these two split up.

[Aarongavey]

Very good signing. Don’t cheap out on the top guys, Laine will pay off for Jarmo.

[timun]

Originally Posted by blankall

This does still sting though. Watching Columbus sign their UFA winger, who was about to walk. Meanwhile, our UFA who said he wanted to sign is now leaving, because Gaudreau is gone.

RFAs, not UFAs.

[PeteMoss]

Seems like a hell of a lot to pay for him even before he has a likely Gaudreau-aided season.

[timun]

Good for the Blue Jackets, as they've had far far worse trouble keeping free agents around than the Flames have... That said, that's a crapload of cap space on one of the most one-dimensional and streaky wingers in the league. Pretty nasty overpayment that I wouldn't be surprised they end up regretting immediately.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

John and Laine together should be fun to watch.

But just think of the heavy lifting the other forward is going to have to do!

Gaudreau cleaned up a lot with Sutter, but he'll never be "good" in his own zone. He certainly got less bad.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Wow, that is just too much money. I figured the term would be 3 to 5 but in all cases it would have to start with a 7... this is almost 9.

[Burning Beard]

Originally Posted by Bingo

But just think of the heavy lifting the other forward is going to have to do!

Gaudreau cleaned up a lot with Sutter, but he'll never be "good" in his own zone. He certainly got less bad.

Yep. Somehow I doubt Brad Larsen is going to be able to get as much defense out of Johnny as Sutter.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

John and Laine together should be fun to watch.

They'll suck.

[djsFlames]

That's about 2 mil too rich for Laine.

[OptimalTates]

Imagine someone telling us a team would be paying 18.5M for Gaudreau and Laine last offseason. It would not be believed. Gaudreau would be coming off 49 points (in 56 games) and Laine with 21 points (in 45 games).

Huge gamble paying two inconsistent players coming off career years while they were in the last year of their contracts. At least Laine's is shorter-term, but throw in 4M for Gudbranson too and 22.5M for those three players and this off-season has a huge chance to blow up in their face.

Also not sure of the real leadership in Columbus, but if they are forced to move a veteran like Nyquist and his "A" to get cap compliant, I'm not sure that's a particular strong locker-room.

Even if it does blow up in their face, which I think is more likely than not, I get it from Jarmo's position, and at least it was an exciting off-season for the fans. But so to was it when the Flames signed Neal.

[TheScorpion]

I never understood why people thought 49 points in 56 games was bad production for Gaudreau.

That pro-rates to 72 points in 82 games. Not his very best, but hardly what I would call a "down year." From 2000 to 2012, Iginla scored fewer than 75 points six times.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

That's an overpayment, but good for Laine.

If he plays with JG that line is either going to score a ton of goals or give up a ton of goals. Or maybe both.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I never understood why people thought 49 points in 56 games was bad production for Gaudreau.

That pro-rates to 72 points in 82 games. Not his very best, but hardly what I would call a "down year." From 2000 to 2012, Iginla scored fewer than 75 points six times.

Iginla was playing in the clutch and grab era, was one of the leaders in goals, and brought a lot more in terms of physicality, leadership, and intangibles than Iginla did. Gaudreau's contributions are almost entirely confined to getting points. When he's not doing that at a PPG, he becomes a liability on the ice.

Also, Iginla did put up 86-98 points in most prime years. In the down years when he was only putting up 70ish points, people were definitely on his case.

[Lanny_McDonald]

It's laughable that anyone suggests this is an overpayment. One of the best finishers with one of the best setup men in the game? This is a huge win. Gaudreau and Tkachuk made Lindholm a Selke candidate, what are Gaudreau and Laine going to do with any center who knows where the defensive zone is? Huge potential.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

It's laughable that anyone suggests this is an overpayment. One of the best finishers with one of the best setup men in the game? This is a huge win. Gaudreau and Tkachuk made Lindholm a Selke candidate, what are Gaudreau and Laine going to do with any center who knows where the defensive zone is? Huge potential.

Gaudreau and Tkachuk made Lindholm a Selke candidate?

I get that a high octane line makes the defensive center accumulate the stats to win the award, but that's really cutting Lindholm's talents short.

They don't spend half of the time they did in the offensive one without him working the puck low.

Add in his ability to slip into the slot and finish and you have a player that is a huge factor in that lines success.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

It's laughable that anyone suggests this is an overpayment. One of the best finishers with one of the best setup men in the game? This is a huge win. Gaudreau and Tkachuk made Lindholm a Selke candidate, what are Gaudreau and Laine going to do with any center who knows where the defensive zone is? Huge potential.

Made Lindholm a Selke candidate? That's a hot take. Gaudreau was almost, not quite, keeping his own defensively. He still had lots of support from Lindholm, not the other way around.

I do agree that Gaudreau/Laine is a potentially lethal combo though, offensively that is.

[PepsiFree]

Lindholm made Lindholm a Selke candidate.

He's been one of the better two-way centers for years, so to suggest anyone who even "knows where the defensive zone is" could come close is just ignorant.