Patrik Laine III: We’ve got questions, he’s got answers

[VT]

Like I said he will stay, if Jarmo doesn't trade him. He is not asking for trade. He is even training with Columbus trainers during the summer, which is quite unusual.

Major, do not know how you can say that Torts did not attempt to alter Laine's playing style when Torts admitted, on several occasions, that is exactly what he was doing when he tried to make him a "power forward". In addition, it was a foolish gesture to try to do that when there was so very little practice time allowed by the condensed schedule.

Torts wanted:

1. to use his figure and the stick around the board and in play in general
2. to play N-S and not so much in NZ
3. to move his legs
4. to feed his partners not only shoot
5. to carry the puck, be strong on him
6. to play the whole game

-----------------

He showed he could do it and very good. And I don`t think the game with Chicago but for example Tampa. I doubt Torts is blame for Patrik`s lost self-confidence.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Laine back in Finland

 

[VT]

Laine back in Finland

Let God forgive me, but Patrik reminds me of Hulk Hogan.

Mitä tekee Patrik Laine? Jarmo Kekäläisen johtamalla Columbuksella on ongelma, suomalaistähti toivoo uudelta valmentajalta "freesimpää ilmettä"

Funny translate to Slovak...

 

[Vapaatunnus]

This sums it up : "Oli koronaa, loukkaantumista ja treidiä, mutta en mene niiden taakse. En ollut henkilökohtaisesti sillä tasolla, millä olisi pitänyt olla. En vaan ollut tarpeeksi hyvä tällä kaudella, Laine kertaa golftapahtuman yhteydessä Nokialla."

So this basically translates :"Even there were corona, injuries and trade, I acn't hide behind those. I wasn't personally in that level which I should have been. I just wasn't good enough in this season, Laine sums up during golf event in Nokia (town in Finland)."

 

[NotCommitted]

– Jos ei häntä tunne, voisi ajatella, että hän on ihan sekaisin. Mutta kahden kesken hän oli niin asiallinen ja mukava mies. Toki olihan siellä vanhan liiton asioita. Hän teki päätöksen siirtyä sivuun ja nyt sitten katsotaan, mitä keksitään uuden valmentajan kanssa, Laine sanoo.
Vanhasta liitosta uuteen aikaan

Tortorellan kanssa yhteinen ajanjakso päättyi tunnelmissa “hymyillään kun tavataan”, nyt Columbuksessa mietitään, millainen on Brad Larsenin ajanjakso. Tuleeko apuvalmentajasta päävalmentajana enemmän uutta liittoa kuin vanhaa. Laineen toiveissa olisi pieni tunnelman ja toiminnan tuuletus. Liikkeelle lähdetään puhtaalta pöydältä.
– Niin ainakin puhuttiin, kun palaveria oli. Saa nähdä, onko vanhaa liittoa luvassa, mutta joissain asioissa olisi kiva, jos olisi vähän freesimpää ilmettä, Laine toivoo.

Above is the bit about coaching, here is my quick and rough translation:
-If you don't know him (Torts), you could think he's completely bonkers. But one-on-one he was so proper and nice man. Sure, there were some old school things. He made the decision to step aside and now we see what we come up with the new coach, Laine says.

Laine hopes for a bit of refresh of 'mood' and 'acting/operating' (culture/the way things are done). Everything will begin with a clean slate.
-At least that's what we talked about, when we had a meeting. We'll see if it's going to be 'old school', but in some things it would be nice to have a bit fresher outlook.

(And a bit about staying in Columbus: )
It's useless to ask NHL-players about their contract negotiations, because the agents deal with them in secret until it's done and made public. After all the commotion in Columbus the waves have settled down and staying in Columbus could be possible.

-Despite everything, Laine says and continues by giving praise to everyone in the Jackets organization from dressing room to front office.
----

He isn't very specific and is quite laid back in the usual style for his interviews, but the way it reads to me he got along with Tortorella just fine as a person and perhaps even liked him, at least I can't read anything negative about him even between the lines. As for coaching, something seemed to rub him in the wrong way a bit, he keeps talking about 'old school' in a bit negative way, maybe he just feels Torts took things a bit too far in his "old school" approach, whatever that means.

I could guess and speculate based on my own opinions on what all a good coach does for their players, but I'll skip on that and let everyone make up their own mind. Besides there's not that much you can tell from a written interview like this and a lot of it is up to the journalist to try and keep it honest. It's YLE so they don't usually try to spin things or make too many conclusions by themselves, but Laine really doesn't say that much.

 

[VT]

Above is the bit about coaching, here is my quick and rough translation:
-If you don't know him (Torts), you could think he's completely bonkers. But one-on-one he was so proper and nice man. Sure, there were some old school things. He made the decision to step aside and now we see what we come up with the new coach, Laine says.

Laine hopes for a bit of refresh of 'mood' and 'acting/operating' (culture/the way things are done). Everything will begin with a clean slate.
-At least that's what we talked about, when we had a meeting. We'll see if it's going to be 'old school', but in some things it would be nice to have a bit fresher outlook.

(And a bit about staying in Columbus: )
It's useless to ask NHL-players about their contract negotiations, because the agents deal with them in secret until it's done and made public. After all the commotion in Columbus the waves have settled down and staying in Columbus could be possible.

-Despite everything, Laine says and continues by giving praise to everyone in the Jackets organization from dressing room to front office.
----

He isn't very specific and is quite laid back in the usual style for his interviews, but the way it reads to me he got along with Tortorella just fine as a person and perhaps even liked him, at least I can't read anything negative about him even between the lines. As for coaching, something seemed to rub him in the wrong way a bit, he keeps talking about 'old school' in a bit negative way, maybe he just feels Torts took things a bit too far in his "old school" approach, whatever that means.

I could guess and speculate based on my own opinions on what all a good coach does for their players, but I'll skip on that and let everyone make up their own mind. Besides there's not that much you can tell from a written interview like this and a lot of it is up to the journalist to try and keep it honest. It's YLE so they don't usually try to spin things or make too many conclusions by themselves, but Laine really doesn't say that much.

Not the waves but Laine. Simply, Finnish must translate it because Gogle translate is funny... (thanks for at least it).

 

[NotCommitted]

To answer the thread title, in another recent Finnish interview he has this to say about his future (translation mine):
- Columbus has my rights and I would like to continue there. I have an opinion on the length of the potential contract, but I won't say more about that. I doubt we'll get one done today. These days you can even sign long distance with a cell phone.

He's training again with Barkov, it seems they are both following the same program.

 

[MissADD]

To answer the thread title, in another recent Finnish interview he has this to say about his future (translation mine):
- Columbus has my rights and I would like to continue there. I have an opinion on the length of the potential contract, but I won't say more about that. I doubt we'll get one done today. These days you can even sign long distance with a cell phone.

He's training again with Barkov, it seems they are both following the same program.

So what you are saying is that Laine is already recruiting Barkov?

 

[CBJx614]

So what you are saying is that Laine is already recruiting Barkov?

Likely the exact opposite

 

[Crede777]

I think it makes sense for Laine to be available. Virtually everyone on this team should be "available" aside from perhaps Bjorkstrand.

That said, his age lines up well for a rebuild and we cannot forget what he is capable of. He has the skill to score 40 goals a season. You dream of drafting a player with that kind of potential and skillset.

The test will be if the Jackets are able to help him realize that potential. Yes, you can only lead a horse to water and you cannot force him to drink, so Laine does have some responsibility here. But great organizations seem to be capable of pulling the best out of their players. I think working with Laine and attempting to turn him into a star player (likely not THE star player on the roster, but A star on the roster) would be a worthwhile undertaking for the new coaching staff.

The hiccup is that this would be an expensive test both in terms of what they have to pay Laine on his qualifying offer and in terms of the assets they would potentially be foregoing if they opt to keep him.

 

[Viqsi]

I think it makes sense for Laine to be available. Virtually everyone on this team should be "available" aside from perhaps Bjorkstrand.

That said, his age lines up well for a rebuild and we cannot forget what he is capable of. He has the skill to score 40 goals a season. You dream of drafting a player with that kind of potential and skillset.

The test will be if the Jackets are able to help him realize that potential. Yes, you can only lead a horse to water and you cannot force him to drink, so Laine does have some responsibility here. But great organizations seem to be capable of pulling the best out of their players. I think working with Laine and attempting to turn him into a star player (likely not THE star player on the roster, but A star on the roster) would be a worthwhile undertaking for the new coaching staff.

The hiccup is that this would be an expensive test both in terms of what they have to pay Laine on his qualifying offer and in terms of the assets they would potentially be foregoing if they opt to keep him.

I'm certainly not opposed to trading Laine. But it'd have to be under the same sorts of circumstances under which we traded Andy - that is, the team trading for him does so based on the expectation they're more likely to get the player he previously has been rather than the player he was this past season, and pays up accordingly. And I just don't see that happening; the "damaged goods" narrative is far too prevalent.

 

[majormajor]

I think it makes sense for Laine to be available. Virtually everyone on this team should be "available" aside from perhaps Bjorkstrand.

That said, his age lines up well for a rebuild

Forget his age, he's a UFA in two years. We'd have to sign him long term to have him fit with the rebuild. What are you comfortable paying him long term?

I'm certainly not opposed to trading Laine. But it'd have to be under the same sorts of circumstances under which we traded Andy - that is, the team trading for him does so based on the expectation they're more likely to get the player he previously has been rather than the player he was this past season, and pays up accordingly. And I just don't see that happening; the "damaged goods" narrative is far too prevalent.

Far too prevalent on HF? I don't think we have a firm sense of what the real offers are like, unless it's been reported somewhere and I haven't seen it. Even the HF offers frequently include top ten picks and A prospects. There are Kings fans dangling the #8OA pick, some even dangling Turcotte. An Oilers fan just offered Holloway + 1st yesterday. If that's real then we're getting good value back.

 

[VT]

Forget his age, he's a UFA in two years. We'd have to sign him long term to have him fit with the rebuild. What are you comfortable paying him long term?



Far too prevalent on HF? I don't think we have a firm sense of what the real offers are like, unless it's been reported somewhere and I haven't seen it. Even the HF offers frequently include top ten picks and A prospects. There are Kings fans dangling the #8OA pick, some even dangling Turcotte. An Oilers fan just offered Holloway + 1st yesterday. If that's real then we're getting good value back.

The fans can offer or Connor MacDavid either Zack Kassian for him. What matters is what GMs are willing to give for it. And I doubt that we would get a lot. IMHO no the first round of the draft. Maybe something like two average players (if) + 2/3 rounds

Judging by his play, the problem was in his head and not his abilities. If he can play perfectly under forchecking in one game against good teams, and in the other he has problems on free ice, I doubt that it says anything about his talent.

The age is important because young players can still progress. By the way, he's only a year older than Texier / Bemmstrom, two years older than Foudy.

P.S. O.K trade him but I`m sure this year was anomaly. We`ll get nothing but someone will have early Christmas Laine is out.

 

[Dog]

Personally, if I was Laine shoes would want out. Has nothing to do with Blue Jackets organization but where they are now. Only, way can see them turning it around is if they trade their 1st round picks in deal to bolster defense/offense. They need a 1A/B center badly along with bolstering defense. If they decide to trade Laine don't expect much of a return. Make more sense to trade him before the NHL deadline if they are out of the playoffs. Which most likely could happen if they do not get much needed Center, solid 1st or 2nd line defenseman. Sadly, with Kivis death need another goalie for AHL team.

 

[KJ Dangler]

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Part that interests me is “I have my own thoughts on the length of the deal but I’ll keep it private.” Wonder what that means.

My speculation is he wants a longer term deal with what he feels he’s worth. Yet knows he won’t get it with the season he just had.

 

[majormajor]

Part that interests me is “I have my own thoughts on the length of the deal but I’ll keep it private.” Wonder what that means.

My speculation is he wants a longer term deal with what he feels he’s worth. Yet knows he won’t get it with the season he just had.

If they could do a 3 year deal that would change the dynamic a lot. But if he's "long term or I'm out", this partnership is over.

 

[VT]

If they could do a 3 year deal that would change the dynamic a lot. But if he's "long term or I'm out", this partnership is over.

And if J&JD wants long lerm and he not? From one side can be better to have one year than we`ll see from other use his value for long term.

 

[majormajor]

And if J&JD wants long lerm

That's a terrible idea. Big risk of Jeff Skinner 2.0.

 

[VT]

That's a terrible idea. Big risk of Jeff Skinner 2.0.

IMHO not. Besides I doubt J&JD would resign such a mad contract. But these are all conjectures.

 

[LazyCircuits]

IMHO not. Besides I doubt J&JD would resign such a mad contract. But these are all conjectures.

Ouch... I knew it was a bad contract but eek

 

[Crede777]

Forget his age, he's a UFA in two years. We'd have to sign him long term to have him fit with the rebuild. What are you comfortable paying him long term?

I think a 1 year deal at his current QO would be ideal for the team since it is minimal risk as he'd still be an RFA at the end of it and it allows the team to assess his play with a full camp and new coaching staff.

But it's unlikely that Laine would go for that. Too much risk on his end.

So it's essentially down to Jarmo and the coaching staff on what kind of player they truly believe he is. If they believe he is a 30-40 goal top line winger, then offer him $8 million x 6 years. If they don't believe he is likely to regain his goal scoring form, then move him.

If 8x6 is too low for Laine to accept, then every dollar above that amount would require Jarmo to be even more sure that he will regain form. I would cap out at $10 million x 6 but in the unrealistic scenario where Jarmo is 100% sure that last season was an aberration and Laine will be a star on this team.

 

[JacketsDavid]

offer him the QO of 1 year, $7.5M.
Then pray someone offers him something more and collect the draft picks.
If not hope he has a big year and is either valuable to us or valuable as a trade chip.

Once he signs the QO you can always work on an extension, but there is so much risk there. In my mind he is a specialty player (a guy who could be awesome on the PP, but likely not a top 6 forward). He was on a great line before where he didn't do much of the lifting, here in Cbus he was being asked to carry lines and he couldn't do it.

 

[DJA]

It's pretty simple for me. Offer him his 1 year QO and see what happens. Arbitration would resolve it one way or the other anyway, if he wants to go that route. I doubt the CBJ would lose that argument.

 

[Xoggz22]

I see Laine on a 1 year deal. He'll get his QO and that's likely what he'll end up signing. In this case, I could see Jarmo taking him straight to UFA with a 2 or 3 year deal if it is team friendly. I'd prefer the 1 year deal myself. My reasoning is that I see that as a way to see where all the details shake out this year. Let's say this team is at the bottom and by the grace of the hockey gods we end up with the 1OA next year, if Laine shows he can fit and rebound (maybe not a 40 goal scorer with this team but shows the skills that got him there), now you have a franchise center to add and an elite scoring winger that is still only 24 (next year). He's a great age to be part of the "next core" but that needs to be seen. If it falls apart again this year for him, then you can move him for something and with the team being awful you'll still have a top pick so no loss there.

I still have high hopes (my eternal optimism) that he can show his skill set and be part of the long term answer.