Confirmed Signing with Link: [CBJ] Patrik Laine accepts QO with Blue Jackets (1 year, $7.5M)

[The don godfather]

Ouch

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Call me crazy, but I still think Laine puts it together at some point, and becomes a legit star. His natural talent is unreal, 6’5” with a beyond elite shot, great offensive hockey IQ, great hands, and good enough skating. Dude put up a 44 goal, 70 point season at age 19 - it’s been all downhill from there, but he still has the talent to do that and more again.

Clearly he’s a head case, very inconsistent from game to game, lacking in preparation, focus, and consistent effort both on and off the ice. But when he’s “on”, he’s a stud, and I do think at some point he’ll mature and figure out how to be “on” much more consistently.

He’s only 23, he still has time to get his shit together, and I suspect he will.

It's so easy to forget how young he is, isn't it.

Sometimes i forget i told myself when he was drafted that he's still so raw that he probably won't enter his prime until his mid 20's. And when he scored 40 goals i still kept telling myself this isn't even close to the player he can be, even if he's putting up the numbers.

That said, his career trajectory has been disappointing the last few seasons overall. 5 years in the league and there's still nights where he looks like the worst player on the ice.

Hopefully he gets to work, learns how to do more with less in Columbus and then goes somewhere better and the rest is history.

 

[Adam da bomb]

nah, we're keeping Roz.

Yeah and we'll keep Pld we are just trading Laine back for the 3rd pick part of the deal. But seriously, keep him.

 

[staveNsteel]

Laine is a good player who has been constantly surrounded by toxic environments, whether a terrible Winnipeg locker room, or a belligerent Torts. Sure, he needs to work on some things, but the hate this guy gets here isn't warranted.

Laine is the HF whipping boy. Everyone apparently hates a guy with a personality or a willingness to speak his mind. He's not a robot like most players in the league. Because of that, everyone sees him as having some mental deficiency, attitude problem, or simply laziness.

Laine does seem to get down on himself when things aren't going right, but that had a lot to do with the system last season, a new city, new coach, and a revolving door of linemates. Also, his creativity was hampered because any wrong doing would be an immediate reason for a demotion or benching.. players should have to live in fear of that, as well, the coach shouldn't be the focal point of the team, but that's Tortz.. an attention seeker and a self proclaimed star of the team.

In the season before this, he had 63pts in 68gp in arguably his best all around offensive season and showed tremendous growth. He gets traded to an offensive black hole with worse centres than the Coyotes and he's labeled as some bust that shouldn't be in the NHL. Most of this chatter comes from people that didn't watch one CBJ game last season and stat watch, criticizing Laine for being put in a situation where his strengths weren't being used.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Boss move by Laine. He’s outta there after this year.

 

[GigaChad]

This is a guy who can pot 30-40 goals or just flatout vanish and score half of that.
I really hope the addition of Voracek and a new coach will get him going again.

 

[William Hylander]

Is it so ridiculous to think he might hit 40 goals? He's still got a great shot and offensive mindset, he has just hit a low point mentally.

This is what happens when you put a superstar young player in two less than stellar cities in Winnipeg and Columbus.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Should be a very interesting year for Laine and the Jackets. Definitely a headcase but he's got talent you can't teach.

If he struggles again and has a poor RS that will lower his value at the deadline substantially. Hope he can get it together because he's fun to watch when he's on the ball.

 

[Patrik Barkov]

Fans want personality but once there's a player who actually speaks his mind the hate is unreal when he's struggling...

Whenever Laine plays good or bad the overreactions are unreal.

 

[Viqsi]

I for one am very much looking forward to how he does with Voracek feeding him pucks.

 

[PaulGG]

He will do good on another team when not expected to be the savior.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Laine gotta pay the bills

 

[Dicky113]

Nice hunk of coal

But is it the last hunk before he Filatovs his way out of the league?

 

[TkachuksMouthguard]

The hate here is silly.

However I was never stoked about the Columbus move. Not the best place to go an resurrect your game. Laine is not the one to toss a team on his shoulders, he would benefit from a team with other talented pieces around him. Winnipeg was solid but for some odd reason that relationship soured. I remember a few years ago when he was defending Winnipeg, loving the city and fans. Bummer it didnt work out.

Laine in Florida, with Barkov, that would be sick.

 

[libertarian]

.

 

[93LEAFS]

The hate here is funny. POS washed up Yakupov... the kid speaks his mind for sure but I dont get the sense that he is an entitled wasted player. Seems like the kind of player that isnt super focused all the time but truly wants to do well. I think the situation in Columbus with Torts gone and Finnish GM could pan out this season. He is not the type of player to lift the whole team, he certainly needs talent around him, but he has enough talent to still thrive in the league if things go decent to start the season.

Funny how he was so loved and celebrated at one point (not too long ago) but now is extremely loathed. If I had to bet my money, I would place it on Laine finding his game and continuing to score for years to come.

His quotes about how he should play with Schiefele and not play with Little came across as very entitled and self-serving. Not all team's best wingers play with their team's best center, as teams sometimes try to spread out the scoring. Kane didn't always play with Toews, Marner didn't play with Matthews for the first 3 and a half years of his career, etc. If you are as good as Laine seems to think he is and have the contract demands he did, you should be expected to carry a 2nd line, and not require a franchise center to perform.

 

[admiralcadillac]

But is it the last hunk before he Filatovs his way out of the league?

I was talking about Laine huehue

 

[DJA]

Boss move by Laine. He’s outta there after this year.

Nah, he’s an RFA.

 

[Leaf Fans]

Will he still be an RFA after his deal is up?

makes him a UFA next year. Check that. Though I am no expert on the cap I looked it up. He willlikely be an RFA

 

[ManWithNoName]

His quotes about how he should play with Schiefele and not play with Little came across as very entitled and self-serving. Not all team's best wingers play with their team's best center, as teams sometimes try to spread out the scoring. Kane didn't always play with Toews, Marner didn't play with Matthews for the first 3 and a half years of his career, etc. If you are as good as Laine seems to think he is and have the contract demands he did, you should be expected to carry a 2nd line, and not require a franchise center to perform.

Agreed. Only problem was Laine and Little did not work at all. Little couldn’t make a good play to save his life. Wheeler worked better with Little but he refused to play with him. Had Wheeler played with Little they would have spread out the scoring on two lines.

Speaking of self-serving. Wasn’t it Matthews who refused to play with Kapanen? He didn’t have the balls to say it out loud but “sources close to him” confirmed it.

 

[Mestaruus]

I feel like Laine will have a good season, but I'd love for Columbus to trade for one more quality center so there are more options for Laine on even strength.

 

[93LEAFS]

Agreed. Only problem was Laine and Little did not work at all. Little couldn’t make a good play to save his life. Wheeler worked better with Little but he refused to play with him. Had Wheeler played with Little they would have spread out the scoring on two lines.

Speaking of self-serving. Wasn’t it Matthews who refused to play with Kapanen? He didn’t have the balls to say it out loud but “sources close to him” confirmed it.

You really want to bring Matthews into it, who played with Connor Brown and Hyman most of his rookie year? And, guess what, when you are your teams best player and franchise center you get to dictate things a bit more. Did he go to the Arizona press and whine? I know Laine went back to Finland and did.

 

[405Entrance]

Imagine if fortnite was never a thing…..

 

[majormajor]

Laine is the HF whipping boy. Everyone apparently hates a guy with a personality or a willingness to speak his mind. He's not a robot like most players in the league. Because of that, everyone sees him as having some mental deficiency, attitude problem, or simply laziness.

Yeah no. That's not why he gets negative attention. People love personality.

He gets negative attention because he's frequently the worst player on the ice. When you're really bad people will start to wonder if you have something amiss mentally.

In the season before this, he had 63pts in 68gp in arguably his best all around offensive season and showed tremendous growth. He gets traded to an offensive black hole with worse centres than the Coyotes and he's labeled as some bust that shouldn't be in the NHL. Most of this chatter comes from people that didn't watch one CBJ game last season and stat watch, criticizing Laine for being put in a situation where his strengths weren't being used.

I've seen every game this year and most Jets games over the years. These are my teams. Laine had horrible numbers this year because he was horrible. Yes he didn't have much help but he also turned the puck over most shifts and didn't have enough battle level to win it back. Winnipeg was the absolutely perfect environment for him and he needs a really beneficial environment or he's in trouble.

 

[Burkeocet]

He’s not a complete player and never will be. Instead of focusing on his shortcomings, focus on what he has - one of the best shots in the world, a big, strong frame and the capability to score 40+ and work with him.

Give him #1 PP time, offensive starts and let him hammer home pucks on net. Torts tried to make him a grinder and it didn’t work nor will it ever. Was Brett Hull expected to be a grinder? No.

Top tier goal scorers are rare and they have one. Play him to his strengths and let the rest of the lineup do their thing. His role is as a scorer and he’s still young, let him learn the game and do what he does best in the meantime.