"Poverty player to poverty franchise": NHL fans react to Patrik Laine's trade from Columbus Blue Jackets to Montreal Canadiens

The trade of Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Montreal Canadiens has sparked strong reactions from NHL fans.

Laine has two seasons left on his four-year, $34.8 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) that he signed with Columbus on July 22, 2022.

Laine's last season for the Blue Jackets ended on December 14 due to a broken clavicle. He then also entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in January for mental health-related issues and was cleared in late July.

Fans took to social media to express their thoughts on the deal:

"Poverty player to poverty franchise."

Another fan wrote,

"Trading for washed up players in a rebuild the Habs are poverty."

One fan pointed out the pressure Laine will be facing with the Canadiens,

"Oh man the media in Montreal is gonna eat him alive when he starts coasting every game" on X.

However, some fans were supportive of Laine's move.

"Wish him well but is the pressure cooker of Montreal the right place for a player who has recently been in the player assistance program" one fan wrote on X.

"He’ll be the next 70 goal scorer as soon as Habs fans see him shoot on a random goalie!" another fan wrote.

"Wow huge missed opportunity by a lot of teams. Also I don’t think that’s a great place for him pressure wise. I was hoping he would be in a building with not so much pressure" a user commented.

Patrik Laine's renewed ambition

Patrik Laine's confidence was evident in his statement to the media as he discussed his target of returning to the elite echelon of NHL goal-scorers.

“I don’t want to come back as a 30-goal-scorer. I want to come back as a 40, 50- [goal-scorer]. I’ve done that previously and it's not by accident,” Laine said following his trade to the Montreal Canadiens (via NHL.com).

However, Patrik Laine's perspective has evolved beyond personal statistics. He emphasized the importance of team success over individual accolades.

“But it’s not just all about that. I want to come in and do whatever it takes to contribute to the team and help the team win, whether it’s me scoring 50 or scoring 20, as long as the team wins. I’m getting to that age, I’m not 19 years old anymore. I just want to win,” he added.

His combination of individual ambition and team-first mentality could prove invaluable as Montreal looks to rebuild and return to playoff contention.