Patrik Laine will always be Patrik Laine: the guy will always have a nonchalant skate.
But he will also always be Patrik Laine for the right reasons. When he is healthy, there are few players with more talent than him in the National Hockey League.
And this morning, in training, it was a bit of a mixture of all that that we saw.
Colleague Marc-Olivier Cook, who was on site, notably filmed Laine training, once again, before the others. He also participated in regular practice – wearing a non-contact jersey.
What jumped out at him when I chatted to him?
He looks fitter than yesterday's training. – Marc-Olivier Cook
Laine, as can be seen in colleague Cook's videos, was making sharp turns before training began. So he's definitely gotten better, clearly.
The turns he was making couldn't have been done without putting weight on his knees. So he's better.
Obviously, we don't yet know when he will join the regular lineup. We have to give the Finn time since there is no rush and he is not exactly ready to come back.
This morning he wasn't on a regular trio. Neither does Michael Pezzetta… and he must have a lot of it in his ass.
We can expect to see this lineup face the Golden Knights tomorrow night (because yes, one day, CH will play again), but nothing is confirmed yet, of course. Let's also remember that this evening, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will play his second fitness match with the Laval Rocket.
Note that Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes were attentive spectators of the training.
In burst
– Karel St-Laurent was still in CH practice.
– Will Mike Sullivan lose his job? [NYT]
– Who will go get him?
– It’s not all that simple.
