1st official images of Patrik Laine in Canadiens uniform are revealed: Habs could grant him special permission

PUBLICATION

Elias Edmonson
September 1, 2024 (1:10 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Canadiens fans were eagerly anticipating Patrik Laine's arrival in Montreal, and today he finally arrived! Images and videos of his first moments with the team have just been released!

Laine will then have a good opportunity to meet with his new bosses in person.

The renowned Pierre McGuire has just suggested that the Montreal Canadiens might grant special permission to Patrik Laine now that he is in town.

McGuire believes that the Montreal Canadiens' management might be on the verge of giving special permission to Patrik Laine and could inform him of this literally within a few hours.

A special treatment for Patrik Laine? An interesting statement by Pierre McGuire

As reported by my colleague Keven Mawn, several days after acquiring Patrik Laine, new questions are surfacing.

Will Laine be encouraged to play better defensively, as was somewhat the case with Cole Caufield? Will they aim to make him a more complete player?

In an interview with Tony Marinaro, Pierre McGuire indeed mentioned that he believes Patrik Laine could be 'the Vincent Lecavalier of the Canadiens.'

In what sense?

'According to McGuire, it could be beneficial for the Canadiens to give Laine special treatment so he can focus solely on the offensive aspect of his game and highlight his scoring talent.'

- Keven Mawn

McGuire gives the example of Vincent Lecavalier, who was given a strictly offensive role with the Tampa Bay Lightning and really flourished in that position.

In essence, will Martin St-Louis allow Patrik Laine to focus solely on scoring goals and generating offense, even if it occasionally comes at a defensive cost?

That's what Pierre McGuire would seemingly do, or at least, he would explore this idea.

A really interesting point:

A special rule for Patrik Laine, do you like the idea?

Montreal is thrilled to welcome Patrik Laine to the Canadiens family. As one of the league's most dynamic players,

Source: GoNordiques
CH: Laine pourrait se voir désigner un mandat spécial et il va marcher dans les pas de Vincent Lecavalier