Patrik Laine needs to be the elite goal scorer everyone knows he can be if this team is to be successful.
Back in 2016, the Columbus Blue Jackets had the 4th best odds at drafting #1 with 9.8% odds. With a stroke of luck, the Jackets were able to move up to #3, a shock to most people who follow the team, considering they fall most of the time.
Everyone knew who would be #1, Auston Matthews, while #2 was considered a lock in Patrik Laine. So, the Jackets ended up missing out on a top 2 pick yet again, and drafted Pierre-Luc Dubois instead of Finland’s Jesse Puljujarvi, the rest is history.
Patrik Laine was traded to the Jackets on January 23rd, 2021, along with Columbus area resident Jack Roslovic for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round pick. Fans were excited at the prospect of having a prolific goal scorer on the team, something that had been sorely lacking the last few seasons.
But then on February 8th, while playing for then-coach John Tortorella, he was benched for the last 26 minutes of the game for reportedly “mouthing off” to an assistant coach during the game. Some fans said they felt this sinking feeling, that after just a few games playing for Tortorella and his staff, Laine would want out already. Later that summer, with Tortorella not coming back to coach, Laine would accept a one-year, $7.5 million contract extension. All was right in CBJ land, for now.
In his first season with the Jackets, the COVID-shortened season, he played in 45 games. He would go on to score 10 goals and a total 21 points for Coach Tortorella. For a player like Laine, to play in a system such as Tortorella’s, I don’t think anyone knew what to expect.
His second season with the Jackets was much better playing for new head coach Brad Larsen. He scored 26 goals and had 30 assists in 56 games, sitting right at a ppg. But Laine would suffer through some significant adversity in his life with the passing of his father Harri, which Laine called his “#1 fan and supporter”. During that same time frame, he also suffered an Oblique injury which kept him out for almost 6 weeks. His first game back he promptly scored a goal, and off he went. As with most scorers, he's very streaky, but when he catches fire, he’s on fire. In late January he went on a three-game stretch where he scored 6 goals and 7 points. He then had another where he had 6 goals in 4 games, which included a hat-trick. Fans were excited about Laine because Larsen said he was going to “turn the players loose”.
But with that excitement came nervousness, for at the end of the season Laine would be a restricted free agent. Now while most people figured he would sign a deal, they were afraid it would be another contract for one or two years, instead of long-term. But on July 22nd, 2022, just a few days after the Jackets shocked the hockey world and signed Johnny Gaudreau, Laine would sign a four-year deal with the Jackets. Not the long-term contract most fans figured it would be, but he’d only be 28 when the contract expires. Fans were excited at the prospect of Laine and Gaudreau playing together.
When the 2022-23 season started for Laine, it got off to a great start by scoring a goal right away vs. the Carolina Hurricanes. But after only 7 minutes of ice time, Laine would go down with an elbow sprain. He was supposed to be out for 4 weeks but returned in 13 days. He would wind up injured a few times last season and would only play in 55 games, including missing the final few weeks of the season. But in those 55 games, he would manage to score 22 goals and total 52 points. He would finish with three multi-goal games including a hat-trick against the Detroit Red Wings in January. Despite the injuries he suffered, fans and analysts know that he is due for a healthy, productive season, and that makes people in Columbus very gitty for the coming years.
He has two years left on his current contract, so he needs to stay healthy. With the prospects that the Jackets have coming in, including center Adam Fantilli, winger Kirill Marchenko, and defenseman David Jiricek, he has the chance to do something special in Columbus. It needs to start this season though. This franchise has a deep pool of prospects, and together with Patrik Laine, Johnny Gaudreau, and Zach Werenski, they have a solid foundation. But in two years, Laine will be an unrestricted free agent and he will need to do what he does best, score goals, and it needs to be often if he wants a long-term contract anywhere, not just Columbus.
CBJ fans are hoping that he wants to finish his career in Columbus and that the Blue Jackets want him to do so as well. He has 58 career goals with the Jackets, sitting 231 behind Rick Nash. If he stays in Columbus for the next 6-8 years, he has a legit shot at Nash's record.
My prediction for Laine this season: 40 goals | 30 assists
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