John Tortorella benched Patrik Laine for the entire third period of Blue Jackets’ victory
So much for a fresh start.
In just his fourth game as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, @Patrik Laine sat on the bench for the entirety of the third period.
Columbus acquired Laine (along with Jack Roslovic) from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois back in January. Through three games with the Blue Jackets, Laine had scored three goals.
On Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, some poor defence from Laine resulted in a goal against, and the young Finn didn’t see the ice for the rest of the game. Columbus would go on to win by a score of 3-2, moving to 6-5-3 on the season.
Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella said that there were a number of things that led to Laine’s benching beyond that missed defensive assignment.
“It’s what I feel I need to do,” Tortorella said after the game. “The last thing I want to do is bench a player. But we’re just disjointed in all areas. Quite honestly, on and off the ice. It’s an easy thing to bench a player. It’s the last thing I want to do, but if I think I need to do it, then I need to do it.”
“It wasn’t because of the missed assignment. There’s a number of things that come into play with that. That’ll stay in the locker room.”
Tortorella went on to add that he’s working on getting six or seven new players integrated into the Blue Jackets’ “standard of play and culture” that the organization has built over the past few years.
Cam Atkinson, a veteran of 10 seasons with the Blue Jackets, defended his coach’s decision.
“Torts expects us to play as hard as we can. It doesn’t matter who you are, and I think everyone knows that. If you’re not giving 100 percent and looking like you’re trying, he’s going to sit you. It’s no secret. That goes for everybody, myself included. I’ve been that guy plenty of times. He just wants the guys that are gonna work,” said Atkinson. “It’s not always going to be pretty. You might be playing with a lot of different [linemates]. But for the most part, if we play the right way and stick to our concepts of playing north and forechecking hard, it doesn’t matter who you play with.”
Laine and Dubos, the No. 2 and No. 3 overall picks from the 2016 NHL draft, sought a change of scenery. Laine reportedly had a clash with multiple teammates on the Winnipeg Jets over his effort while Dubois struggled with Tortorella.
Tortorella, who sits 14th in all-time wins among NHL coaches, is notoriously tough on his players, especially when it comes to demanding a complete, two-way game. His rigid style helped the Blue Jackets win their first-ever playoff series back in 2019, a four-game sweep of the heavily-favoured Tampa Bay Lightning.