Mathieu Perreault, who has been retired since the end of the 2021-2022 season, has once again become a hockey fan and supporter of the Canadian, and when he learned that Patrik Laine, his former teammate at the Winnipeg Jets, was coming to Montreal, he got goosebumps.

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“I was thrilled when I heard about the transaction,” he said when asked by The diary. If he plays like the young Laine I knew, the fans will love him.”

Perreault was already an established veteran on the Bettman scene when the Finn arrived in Winnipeg in the fall of 2016. Despite playing with Alex Ovechkin in his first four NHL campaigns, the Drummondville natives couldn’t believe the recruit’s abilities.

“What he accomplished in his first two seasons with us was pretty impressive,” Perreault said of Laine’s 36- and 44-goal seasons.

Does he specifically believe that he will be able to return to this level after a drop in performance due to injury?

“I have no doubt about it,” he claimed. He has all the tools you could have in a box. The size, the hands, the skate. He’s a very intelligent guy on the ice too,” he said.

“It’s a real force of nature,” Perreault continued. He’s not necessarily the guy who gets the puck a lot, but I would put him on a line with him [Kirby] Roof and [Juraj] Slafkowski. We would start talking about a solid and heavy trio.

A fragile trust

That’s Laine’s good side. The one who makes Kent Hughes look like a genius in the best of all possible worlds. There are a few skeletons in the closet, though. Whether in Winnipeg or Columbus, the Finn requested a trade in the hopes of a change of scenery.

In both cases it was said that his teammates could no longer feel him. What exactly is that?

“It wasn’t necessarily veterans who didn’t want to see him anymore. Especially when he was feeling bad, he tended to feel sorry for himself instead of rolling up his sleeves. At a certain point, it could become disruptive to performance on the ice, explained Perreault, stressing in passing that Laine was never a distraction in the locker room. It wasn’t his personality that stood out, but his way of being on the ice.”

“He also lost his father in 2021. A heart attack at the age of 54. “In Winnipeg, they were always together. His father was like his best friend. I think it had a big impact on his mentality,” he added, pleased to see that he now seemed radiant.

In addition, Perreault is convinced that the environment that has prevailed in Montreal since the arrival of Hughes and Martin St-Louis will be conducive to a renaissance of Laine.

“Martin St-Louis seems to me to be a good coach for him, a guy who will help him maintain a high level of confidence. In addition, it will be an advantage if the Canadian can put him in a situation where he can perform. A confident Patty is a dangerous Patty.”

We couldn’t ask for anything better.

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