Is there concerns that Wheeler is a locker room problem ?

[Porter Stoutheart]

Didn't Ehlers come out with some stuff in support of this dressing room situation a while back too? He seems to have made his peace with it all. But it was a main boards thread at some point in the past too, before this trade, wasn't it?

 

[jetsforever]

One big thing (that I assume has been mentioned) is that Maurice seems to let Scheifele and Wheeler do whatever they want and consequently they almost exclusively play together. Every other line gets broken up and us fans often call for that one as well but Maurice just refuses to.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Laine probably wasn't a good fit with the Jets. I don't see a problem with player wanting more. He didn't half ass it even in his last game as a Jet.

 

[jcs0218]

If Laine wanted out because Wheeler was getting to play on the 1st line and Laine wanted that spot, then that says more about Laine than it does about Wheeler.

If that is what the issue was, Wheeler doesn't even have to explain anything to Laine. Because where you play is the coach's decision, not Wheeler's decision.

 

[jcs0218]

One big thing (that I assume has been mentioned) is that Maurice seems to let Scheifele and Wheeler do whatever they want and consequently they almost exclusively play together. Every other line gets broken up and us fans often call for that one as well but Maurice just refuses to.

If that is true, then Maurice is the problem. He doesn't have control of his team if what you are saying is true.

That isn't on Wheeler.

 

[Gurglesons]

If Laine wanted out because Wheeler was getting to play on the 1st line and Laine wanted that spot, then that says more about Laine than it does about Wheeler.

If that is what the issue was, Wheeler doesn't even have to explain anything to Laine. Because where you play is the coach's decision, not Wheeler's decision.

I think Laine wanted out because he wanted to be used as a top weapon on the team.

 

[jcs0218]

I think Laine wanted out because he wanted to be used as a top weapon on the team.

Then he was being selfish.

If you aren't playing on "the top line", then you take that as a challenge to turn your own line into being a nightmare to deal with.

The concept of "1st line" and "2nd line" is so arbitrary, and really only applies to video games.

In real hockey, it is possible to give 2 lines 18-20 minutes a game. There doesn't have to be a 1st-line and 2nd-line. As long as both lines are clicking.

Instead of pouting and sulking, Laine could have focussed on turning his line into a 1B to Sheifele's 1A.

 

[WpgSteve]

The Jets locker room wasn't a fun place in 2018/2019. Expectations were sky high and the team struggled. Wheeler and Scheifele can be intense and made the situation worse.

I don't think that this is what soured Laine on the Jets though. Laine soured on the Jets because he went cold and struggled to score. He got frustrated and started to second guess his teammates and coaches. The situation got worse in the 2019 offseason with Laine's contract negotiations.

Both sides worked to restore the relationship in 2019/2020. Laine worked hard and was given the usage he wanted for the most part . Unfortunately the top line didn't gel and the Jets could not justify keeping him there. Tensions were muted but remained.

At the end of the day, Laine wanted superstar status and a contract to match. The Jets have too many other good players and couldn't offer that. A trade made the most sense for everyone. I don't think the interpersonal issues played nearly the role that some posters on here assume.

 

[surixon]

I'm not a Jets fan and I love Matthews, but we can leave this conversation out of this thread tbh.

Multiple scouts said Laine potentially had the bigger upside and this thread is about Winnipeg ruining the results due to choosing other personalities over the aloof one.

Laine was handled just fine for the most part. He got a PP designed around him and his shot, he was played in the top 6 and played pretty much his whole career with talented players. He didn't play much LW because every time he did the results were much worse then they were at RW. He is very poor at moving the puck out of his end and that was compounded when he had to receive it on his offside on the wall. He was free to do what he wanted in the offensive end so playing on the right side would have had a negligible impact on his offense.

Could they have played him more with Schiefele, sure but he played with him all last year and didn't run with it. At some point the player needs to take some ownership for failing as well. There is nothing generational about Laine outside his shot and even that hasn't been that great the last few years and it will be interesting to watch how his reoccurring back injuries impact it going forward. The org could have done some things better but so too could the player.

 

[Kuhta]

There is a weird club in the club. Maurice, Wheeler and Scheifele seem to have their own thing going on.

What surprised me was that they chose to stick with this model even if it has not taken them anywhere in almost a decade.

Maybe a new window opens when Wheeler retires and they are left with Scheifele + Dubois. Maurice I reckon is also gone at that point.

 

[Husqvarna]

Whatever the proplem is Clint Eastwood will fix it (Columbus) or Laine will fix it.

 

[sharkbyte]

Didn't Ehlers come out with some stuff in support of this dressing room situation a while back too? He seems to have made his peace with it all. But it was a main boards thread at some point in the past too, before this trade, wasn't it?

If anything Ehlers could probably provide the best insight being Laine's best friend on the team and being in that locker room himself but these players and coaches are never going to provide details (they probably shouldn't anyway, what goes on in the locker room is private) and that's why these threads about team culture or whatever are usually pointless because everyone's comments just end up being speculation.

 

[Sky04]

One big thing (that I assume has been mentioned) is that Maurice seems to let Scheifele and Wheeler do whatever they want and consequently they almost exclusively play together. Every other line gets broken up and us fans often call for that one as well but Maurice just refuses to.

Maybe it's because they've been a top producing duo in the league for the last 5 years, don't fix what's not broken.

 

[MoeTheHobo]

It's strange how Laine has become such a controversial figure even if he has kept his mouth shut for the most part.

 

[Husqvarna]

Then Laine was a small fish in the big bowl locker room.

Big boys jaws o' 'Winnipeg" ruled the rules. And kicked him out.

But Columbus ain't the place to be for a Finland superstar - and he know it.

 

[PhilJets]

If his bridge settlement was 7m over 2 years, you really think his demand for somewhere between 6 and 8 years wasn't in the 10m range?

Ah your assuming......

I trust facts more than random 93leafs poster in hfboard

 

[snipes]

Did he take away Laine’s Xbox or something?

 

[rubikscube]

I don't think the center depth is even better now than it was when Laine initially joined the team. Completely overblown.

LMFAO. Hahahahahaha

 

[kingpest19]

Massive gap like Wheeler outscoring him by 40 points in a single season? Or maybe 20 points? Or 10? Or like Wheeler outscoring him by 70+ points over a 3 year span?

If Laine were much better, he wouldn't have been traded.

And this is why I don't understand the hate Wheeler gets from some fans. Back to back 91 pt seasons and outside of last year he had finished 1 or 2 in team scoring the entire time he's been there. Most teams fans would be ecstatic to have wingers like Wheeler AND Laine.

 

[Tanembaria]

Reading through the comments, man can hfboards write some killer fanfics lol.

 

[ijuka]

LMFAO. Hahahahahaha

1C Mark Scheifele, 1C Bryan Little, and 45p in 65gp Mathieu Perreault.

Funny huh?

 

[ijuka]

Then he was being selfish.

If you aren't playing on "the top line", then you take that as a challenge to turn your own line into being a nightmare to deal with.

The concept of "1st line" and "2nd line" is so arbitrary, and really only applies to video games.

In real hockey, it is possible to give 2 lines 18-20 minutes a game. There doesn't have to be a 1st-line and 2nd-line. As long as both lines are clicking.

Instead of pouting and sulking, Laine could have focussed on turning his line into a 1B to Sheifele's 1A.

You think he was pouting and sulking? Watch his last game?

Someone we could say was pouting and sulking would be Pierre-Luc Dubois.

 

[Hunter368]

Good piece on TSN, interview with McIntyre discussing his story regarding Laine's trade.

 

[Cleatus]

One big thing (that I assume has been mentioned) is that Maurice seems to let Scheifele and Wheeler do whatever they want and consequently they almost exclusively play together. Every other line gets broken up and us fans often call for that one as well but Maurice just refuses to.

Another thing I've heard is that PoMo doesn't do much discipline for players in general, and basically leaves it up to Wheeler, and Ladd/Byfuglien when they were here (would explain the whole track suit situation with Kane, PoMo just gets the team leaders to deal with things).

 

[nickdawg95]

You think John Tortorella is going to build his entire offense around Patrik Laine? Really?

he did it with panarin. do you watch hockey ?