bring him to mtl, we'll put the last nails in the coffin of a great talent

Laine looked like a Great Value brand Ovi at times at the beginning of his career. Now he just looks like a guy trying to stay in the lineup.

I did not expect to hear Shannon say "You do you, bro". Now that I have, I think I'm better for it.

Actually think he just needs to stay healthy. He was on pace for 38-44-82 and 32-45-77 the past two years. Every time he gets going he seems to get injured which kills all his momentum. I like Laine a lot. Stayed in Columbus during the off season and played in a summer league. Took Fantilli under his wing and had him stay at his house til he got settled in Columbus. Think he really cares about the team. Will be playing with Fantilli now and i see great things happening for that line. Fingers crossed

Laine can put up 40-50 goals a season with the right linemates but I’m afraid he won’t find that in Columbus. When he played with Winnipeg he had some great chemistry with Paul Stastny as his center, especially the year they went deep into the playoffs.

I hope he picks it up, I’d love if was actually that 50 goal scorer we all thought was possible

Same with Huberdeau .... As it turns out, playing with Barkov is pretty good for ones offensive stats

This center experiment has to stop. He's not one nor will he ever be. He's a goal scorer. They need to put Fantilli up there with him & Gaudreau.

Extraordinary analysis, made me slap the sub button like a Laine shot during the Jets days. Being of Finnish descent, I have been following Patrik's career in the NHL. I'm still a huge fan. However, I think a large part of this lies in himself, in his self-image, his mental frailness, further affected by him being prone to injury. He needs to lose the attitude and start working. That being said, he most definitely needs good players around him, and he should definitely not play center. I hope he gets his mojo back, because at those times he is an amazing player to watch. Thanks for a great video!

I remember in 18-19 when he had 5 goals in one game against the future champion Blues

Coming from a Blue Jacket fan, players don't ask out of Columbus or refuse to play in Columbus because it sucks here or is a bad place to live. I'm sure many players have loved the community, the fans are super supportive and passionate, and frankly I think most cities in the US and Canada are probably cool places to live. The real problem is the front office is basically never held accountable by the owners and thus whenever they make mistakes like bad contracts (Severson and Provorov contracts scare the hell out of me) poor drafts picks (Milano and Foudy) poor coaching hires (Larsen, Babcock, and Vincent all yikes) and poor player management (like what we are seeing with KJ and Laine,) it all just compounds together. There's so many different parts just slapped together in this organization that do not fit together. Everything needs to be torn down starting with the owners but they are faceless and so detached we aren't even sure they are aware of the current losing streak and that level of incompetence is weighing down this team. It's so hard to root for this team when Jarmo makes yet another mistake and we all know that his job is completely safe even if we are consistently terrible.

I will always remember a comment someone gave on a Laine highlight from last season: "90% of the time Laine looks like he has never put on a pair of skates in his life and the remaining 10% of the time he has the greatest pair of hands in the world"

Laine possesses the best right handed shot in the game. There’s a place for someone like that no doubt, but it’s not on a bad team where he’s expected to carry the load. Put him on a team like Pittsburgh or Vegas or Colorado and he’ll score 40 with his eyes closed. Bad fit in Columbus.

Great video I didn't know I wanted to see!

Shannon thanks so much for your videos. The detailed analysis is much appreciated!

When you just read an article about Laine, and then think " i wonder if the hockey guy has said anything yet about Laine?" Boom video posted 8 minutes ago 😂

What I'd really like to see a THG vid on: his top 20 hockey moments of all time.

Columbus has a nightmare with Laine and Gaudreau not living up to expectations. But you start thinking what the problem really is. Dubois, Panarin, Duchene, Bobrovsky. The talent has been available, something is not clicking in Columbus.

Love the Zapruder film reference. Firstly, yes, that is Toronto fans in a nutshell. Secondly, brilliant timing Shannon.

It really is a case where he has to play through it. The other issue, currently the Jackets aren't a team opponents are afraid of. Smother Johnny or shadow Laine, and they're neutralized. With Rozlovic injured, that leaves Fantilli as the only center capable of creating his own space. Try the Fantilli Laine and Gaudreau line and see what clicks If Chinakov

At one point Jarmo looked like a top 10 Gm in the league, now fans are amazed he’s still employed…

I dont understand why CBJ is testing out a winger known for his lackluster defensive play in the center. Center is the player that works the most, blocks shots, takes part in every corner puck battle, stands in for a D if they jump up to the play. These are all things Laine is not good enough at to be played in the center. Additionally, coach changing lines more times than there have been games in the season can't be an easy environment to try and build chemistry in. Solution, play Laine as a winger, a goal scorer that has the ability to also read the play and pass the puck to create dangerous chances.

CBJ fan here. Hope this video is a reverse-jinx and Laine sets the league on fire now. Tough to hope these days though. 😂

They need to try Fantilli at center with Gaudreau and Laine on the wings. 2 play makers and a sniper. It might work. I'm not sure what columbus is going to do to get out of this hole they are already in.. Crushing my slim hopes of a decent season.

Your takes are very valid. Also I would like to add that hockey evolution has gone past Laine in NHL. This comes from big Laine fan who still wants to think that Laine can turn this around. I hope they trade him and he gets a bit smaller role in second line in some other team with good line mates.

Every time you do a Columbus video, I ask myself how the heck does Jarmo Kekalainen still have his job?

if he got into carolina, he would be great again.

I remember when Matthew’s and him would go head to head and was impressed. Man he sure fell off the radar. Matthew’s still rocking it

I think some wingers just shine when paired with certain centermen. Huberdeau is another example

I always thought it was Laine on the Grassy Knoll.

He was a Headstone in Winnipeg, his game was waiting on the pass to shoot only, became very stale after awhile!

Great video Shannon. Hoping laine turns this around he has too much skill!

1:58: " Meandering around the ice". I have been seeing comments from Blue Jackets fans that is exactly what he is doing now in Columbus.

When he was a 16-year-old up and coming star in Finland he had HUGE problems with himself. He was even sent home from U18 Championships for acting out on the coach. He had a lot of mental help after that and it really made a difference. He was a beast after that. He played at World Hockey Championships when he was 17, scored more points than anyone under 17 ever (I believe Jaromir Jagr held the record before that) and obviously was in the most dangerous line in the junior championships with Sebastian Aho and Jesse Puljujärvi. I can't help but to wonder whether these problems he's dealing with now are something he could use mental help with. He also trains with Aleksander Barkov during the summer and neither one of them has played that many full seasons without injuries... I don't know. Maybe they need to change something.

He hasn't been the same since the Rasmus Andersson hit. I hope the concussion spotter gets sued.

Loved him as a Jet!

Bummed I missed the film reference towards the end describing the Toronto media. What did he say?

great analogy. he is not a center, injury and frustration are ruining his game. He is a complete turn over machine .and yes, he has never been a two-way player. CBJ can't support this type of player. he is in tomorrow as a winger .(right move coach)and i think he will do his best, hope he doesn't try to be the savior cause it will just go south.i am a little concerned how this affects Mo, marchy ,Vronk, and all of our young players thanks for doing this video Shannon

Toronto Media and Zapruder Film is a great line. haha.

Personally I remember Laine as a young player doing amazing things ..and then there’s Laine after he took a massive hit from someone..and he never really looked the same or played as effectively. It was when he was still with Jets.

I keep seeing mock trades that bring him to Anaheim and send a few prospects and picks to Columbus. Would he work on a line with Carlsson and Terry?

I swear there are guys out there who play well as youngsters to get a big contract then it's "my job is done here" once they do get that contract.

As a WPG fan I think the problem with Laine is the NHL has figured him out by now. He is a one-trick pony, which worked really well in his first couple seasons, but after not improving his skating or defensive abilities got figured out by the league. He still could become a superstar in the league if he put in the work, but that isn't in his blood. He has become Kovalev 2.0 IMO.

Lol Zapruder film mightve been more appropriate tomorrow

His career started promising, and then teams found a way to neutralize his one-timer. He has a howitzer of a shot, but he is simply no Teemu Selanne. He remains in Columbus, while PLD is now in L.A. and the Jets have three players to show for it. Two of them are injured, but Alex Iafallo is producing more points than PLD.

are you going to be getting the iowa wookies jersey

I said this when he was still in Winnipeg, he has no heart or work ethic. When things are going well he’s happy. When things get hard, he quits. Won’t try to outwork a slump like most guys. He’s lazy, always has been. He got called out for it in Winnipeg and he’s never been able to recover from being found out. Guy has talent, just no drive. Too bad because he could’ve been one of the greatest of all times. Now he’ll just be a flash in the pan. Maybe time to go home and see what happens there.

I'd love to see him in a Canes uniform, but his lack of defensive effort would put him in the dog house with RBA...but would be great to have him paired w/ Aho.

Laine is a really strange cat, you look at him during the shifts he takes when he's on and he looks, no hyperbole or exaggeration like one of the best players you've seen. And then you see him taking a shift in a game where he's off and it looks like he doesn't even belong in the NHL. He absolutely has got all the tools and all the talent to do it but for some reason he just will not do it. A lot of the times I wonder does he even enjoy hockey, I mean as a sport not even as a profession. He comes off lazy and super chill but when you see him fail and be subpar I don't think I've seen many who are that hard on themselves and expect that much from themselves as he does. Even if those expectations don't really have any basis to be that big.

That's it, back to Winnipeg! (Salary retained)

The real question is, if the Leafs passed on Matthews, and Winnipeg got Matthews, do the Jets advance to the 2018 Cup Finals and beat the Caps?

He is being grossly misused in columbus. Trying him at centre? Has he ever done that at the nhl level? He obviously has some major deficiencies in his game and his work ethic has always been in question, but Columbus literally does not have any competent centres other than jenner (who definitely should not be playing first line). And because of this they now have to put a huge load fantilli and Johnson when they are just not ready yet. All that adding they did last year, and they still have a massive hole down the middle. Im not saying that the only reason hes playing badly is because he doesnt have a great centre on his line, but it is clearly affecting the team and laine as well.

I jumped on the Jets 2017-18 playoff run bandwagon. I clearly remember thinking WTF Laine was doing on the ice during the VGK series.

When are you doing Seth jones

I’m a Blue Jackets fan who has only been following hockey since 2018, so take everything I’m about to say with a grain of salt: I was so excited after the Dubois - Laine / Roslovic trade, but it just hasn’t produced the results that a lot of us had hoped for. There’s questions about if he’s happy in Columbus and it’s just so hard to tell because he’s so difficult to read. That being said, he just scored against Chicago and he barely reacted to it. That doesn’t look like a happy player to me. Idk. I still want to believe in him and I’m going to keep hoping for the best. I will also say that I believe he’s been mismanaged by each coach he’s played for in Columbus. For some reason, our coaches haven’t wanted to take advantage of his strengths such as his lethal slap shot.

Laine was not in Kings trade package with PLD and such with Peg.

Laine's contract is fine, but he has injury problems and if columbus would have good play making center he could make 50 goals, i hope columbus would get good center player or Laine goes another team where is good play making center😄

The comment that some guys make it happen on their own and some need compatible or complementary line mates to play to their potential was most enlightening. You can add PLD, Huberdeau, to this list with Laine. The Habs forums are starting to beat the drum about picking up Laine, but the Habs just dodged an $8.5M bullet with PLD and I have confidence that Habs management recognizes that acquiring Laine is an $8.7M mistake.

*_"LAI-NES BETT-ERR"_*

Not that the Devils necessarily need more firepower (defense/goaltending is a much bigger issue) but with how offensively oriented the system is and how talented the forwards are, Laine could thrive there. It would probably cost Columbus extra picks and retaining salary to ever get that to happen, though.

That’s the reason I think long term contracts don’t work. They need a top 2 Center to play with him but so does most of the league. His contract is basically untradable so they might as well put Fantilli as his Center and hope for the best

"So what do you do with a guy who's a sniper who isn't scoring goals, and doesn't provide the defensive coverage you need from guys who are gonna be in your bottom six?" Wait are we talking about Laine or Robertson? I'm sure Peter DeBoer would love to know the answer to this.

13:44. That's where I mostly lean. And if Toronto drafted him, I do think that he'd be on a better trajectory.

I would love some good news for my blue jackets we have had nothing but bad outlooks and news for the last 3 seasons. Ugh!

Laine just scored a gorgeous goal against the Habs.

I remember watching a video about the thoery that Laine likely has a video game addiction. Fortnite was apparently his game of choice and he'd buy TVs and stuff on road games so he'd still be able to play. They figured out his gamertag and apparently Winnipeg banned him from playing fortnite, and his game play seemed to improve during the time where he wasn't allowed to play fortnite. Take what I'm saying with a grain of salt, but i think Laine's addiction may have taken over since he's gone to columbus. I'll try to find the video and I'll come back to edit this comment when I find it so people don't think I'm just pulling this out of my ass. Edit: Patrik Laine and the Fortnite problem: NHL conspiracy - Canadian Jock

I just checked what people were saying about this deal when it was first signed. Most thought it was a good deal, including myself, then CBJ had to dump cap space and the deal looked bad. It hasn't aged well either. It's a mess.

Laine was at his best in the early years with the Jets when he was playing on the top line with Wheeler and Scheifele but his production dropped off upon being demoted to the second line and playing with Bryan Little and Nik Ehlers, with Kyle Connor taking up that place on the first line. Note that Wheeler was at, or very near, the top of the league in terms of assists back then, with much of this being as a result of the many Laine powerplay goals as assisted by Wheeler. Laine's demotion may have had something to do with the friction between him and the Wheeler camp, all of which eventually came to light and ultimately led to Laine's request to be traded (it was obvious that Paul Maurice thought the world of Wheeler and would have granted his wish not to play with Laine).

In Winnipeg he had a good bunch of players to feed him and get all those goals. In Columbus it's a different story and his defensive woes are far more obvious since the day he arrived. He gets injured often and his overall value is slowly decreasing to the point where there are few teams that would trade for him and pay the money he's expecting.

couldn't agree more Shannon. If a player needs others to make him better, he is not a "great player". It's one thing if you need more playing time or if your stats are just good not exemplary - but if you're getting 30 P per season playing 15 minutes a night you are not worth trading real assets for. You're just ok.

Laine only scored 30 in 18-19? He scored 5 goals in one game that year. Haha

It may be a bit of both, or perhaps it's something in his private life, ultimately I think Laine needs to figuire it out and find that scoring touch again. With his current record no one will want to touch that contract, so he needs to start living up to it. If he wants out, via a trade, he still has to play better than he has, if he wants to go elsewhere. Once again, that big contract is going to be the point of contention, unless there is a coach, or general manager that feels they can get him motivated enough to produce what he used to and make room in the cap for him.

How about Laine in Arizona (as a left winger)?

Pair him up with a strong center who plays both ends.

Your JT Miller example isnt the greatest. Miller totally dictates the play and carries his linemates to produce.

My enthusiasm for Laine ended around 2019. It just seemed all too clear that he couldn't cope with the extra physicality of Playoff hockey.

Two words, Kyle Connor. Connor drafted 17th overall, 487 gp, 223 goals, 224 assists, 447 points. Laine has more ego than heart.

If u would have ask me to pick one winger after last season who would be worst center that guy would be Laine. I really dont understant why they but him in middle but i cant see anyway it to work

In Winnipeg Laine missed 23 games in four seasons which is not a lot. During the shortened covis season 20-21 he missed 11 out of 56 games. This season he missed games because of concussion due to intentional elbow hit to his head - this should not count as being prone to injuries. Sure on the previous seasons in Columbus he missed more games but i wonder how big a factor play the fact that he is quite an obvious target in a team like Columbus that lack broad range of top talent? 🤔

I'd rather have 3 William Karlssons.

*Production has gone up in his 2 full seasons, but games played and goals have reduced.

I’m surprised anyone doubts Laine. He scored 20 goals last season on a shitty Columbus team.

I would like to see the Bruins make a push for him… Im sure a coach like Monty can bring the best out of him. And a different culture could help him.

He would flourish in a big hockey market.

I believe Laine is a millennial finish flash in the pan premadonna. Chevy did well by getting PDL on Laine trade and also did well with PDL trade to LA. Laine is a Big Ovi fan boy, trade him to The Caps maybe he’ll click. He’s only 25, but it ain’t working in Columbus.

I've followed Laine's career and it's pretty evident that he can score goals. However he's mostly too dependent on other players' skills and moods. Also, the playstyle and structure of the team must suit Laine's playstyle. In Jets he used to hover on the offensive side and people actually passed to him. He had great players to play among who suited that playstyle, Ehlers, Stastny, Scheifele. Also if the opposing team got the puck he basically stopped skating and waited for the defenders to handle it. Jets also had better defensive players who got the puck to offensive side more efficiently. In Jets there was a toxic atmosphere created mostly by Wheeler. In Columbus it was Tortorella, who tried to change Laine's playstyle to match the columbus playstyle. In my opinion, which isn't much, you either create your line-up to match the playstyle of the team or you try and find a group of line mates who strenghten each other and they match their own playstyles. What Laine would need is defencemen who handle the threat and pass the puck to the enemy blue line and a selke trophy material center and a right forward who can pass the puck from the right side to the left side through the enemy defense. What we see now on Columbus is Laine trying to go defensive while losing the offensive power he has. He has too many puck losses on the center line. He needs both defensive and offensive support. Arguably too much. He can move the puck, but not if the line mates he's playing with do not support him enough. Not getting injured also helps a lot.

I'm not saying he's lazy, but I also haven't heard much about him having this great work ethic either.

Confidence may be the issue and benching him is going to do more damage. It’s possible that hit he took back in Winnipeg really rattled his confidence because that’s when it all seemed to start.

He is almost a point per game player. His problem is missing g games. He is like Taylor Hall. There was no goal slump.

I remember him and torts were at odds and it was either torts or laine leaving and it was torts. Ironic babcock wouldve been a hardnosed coach like torts and laine prob was pumped to have former winnepeg coach and "players coach" as new coach and got scratched against flyers coached by torts

Prob just prefers playing Fortnite

patty needs to come to carolina

call up Dumais lines: Gudreau jenner Laine Voronkov Fanitili Marchenko Texier Silinger Dumais Chinakov Kuraly Danforth/Olivier Done, there's the solution

Guy started off like a house on fire. Even had a five-goal game. Since that moment...nothing like before.

I’m a Leafs fan. If we had drafted Laine over Matthews, I believe it would have forced us to play Marner at his natural C position. A first line of Laine-Marner-Nylander looks like a lot of fun. It would have probably meant we don’t trade Kadri because we don’t sign Tavares and would not be able to afford losing Nazem. In short, I think we’re a better team with a better cap structure with Laine than Matthews. Similarly, Matthews would have had Kyle Connor to feed and would have allowed the Jets to play Scheifele at 2C. They probably win that Cup in 2017 or 2018.

I think it's pretty much all mental. And if he was in Toronto, Marner makes everyone a star.

Laine’s career reminds me of Alexander Semin’s

Tarasenko is one of those guys who can play with anyone too

For a decent price i wouldn’t mind Anaheim trading for him

Here's an idea for a trade: Patrick Laine for Timo Meier. Laine makes 8.7mil x 3 and he's 25yrs old Meier makes 8.8 x8 and he's 27yrs old. Maybe a pick on either side, whatever is needed to balance the trade. Laine has a NMC, but would waive. Meier doesn't. Both players have had a lot of success in the past, but aren't a good fit in their current roles. Also, Columbus seems to have trouble getting players to stay long term, so having an 8 year contract for a player like Meier would likely be tempting.