2021 Top 10: #8 — A “toxic environment” had Laine seeking trade from Winnipeg
The Patrik Laine era in Winnipeg ended in an ugly way with the Finnish sniper eventually being dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The trade, which was the first blockbuster of 2021, saw him head to Columbus with Jack Roslovic for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 3rd round pick.
As our own Cam Lewis wrote on Jan. 25, a “toxic environment” led to Laine’s departure. Here’s some of what he wrote:
The drama surrounding Dubois and the Blue Jackets was no mystery. There were plenty of reports out of Columbus that indicated the young pivot wasn’t happy playing for head coach John Tortorella, who has a reputation for being tough on his players.
On the other side, Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press reported that a fallout between Jets leadership and Laine resulted in the young Finn reaching a point of no return.
It’ll take quite some time to determine who got the best of this deal between the Jets and Blue Jackets. Dubois is undoubtedly a great young player, but the Jets have now moved on from three drafted and developed players (Laine, Roslovic, and defenceman Jacob Trouba) and they also had veteran Dustin Byfuglien mysteriously decide to leave the team in the past year-and-a-half.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.