Patrik Laine Drama: Blue Jackets Reportedly Targeted Shoulder

According to Renaud Lavoie, the Columbus Blue Jackets targeted Patrik Laine in Monday’s game versus the Montreal Canadiens. To be more specific, Lavoie thinks they were targeting the shoulder he injured shoulder during his time with the Blue Jackets, which lasted from 2020 to 2024.

I’ll be honest, I noticed the Blue Jackets amping up their physicality when Laine was on the ice, but I’d be hard-pressed to say they were definitely attempting to injure their former teammate. It’s not abnormal to see a team put money on the board in these situations.

The Blue Jackets were upset that Laine said the team was “A little too satisfied and too comfortable where they’re at,” and that he was tired of giving up in December.

That is essentially what general manager Don Waddell said about the Blue Jackets last summer.

No one raised an eyebrow when Ryan O’Reilly said the Buffalo Sabres made him stop loving hockey, because it’s a natural reaction to playing for a franchise that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

While many have offered their commentary on the subject, I have to admit I’m not entirely comfortable giving my opinion, as no one except those in the Blue Jackets locker room know exactly what happened.

We’re discussing a team that has struggled mightily in recent years, and a player who has dealt with several issues that impacted his well-being during his time in Ohio.

When mental health is in play, we need to be careful about our assumptions, especially seeing as we’re rather light on details regarding Laine’s time in Columbus. We do know the Blue Jackets failed to make the playoffs in the last few years, and that they have only won a single playoff series since 2010.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the Jackets are a disaster of a franchise. The Habs have also struggled in recent years, and like the Blue Jackets, they’re in the midst of a rebuild. It hasn’t quite reached the point where the stench of losing has seemingly taken over the locker room, but it is a good reminder that athletes absolutely detest losing, and there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to trading poor finishes for high draft picks.

We also know Zach Werenski, the player who took exception to Laine’s comments, went out of his way to force a trade involving Elvis Merzlikins and the Finnish forward. That event took place in 2020-21, the very first season in which Laine was playing for the Blue Jackets.

This connotes that it probably wasn’t the healthy, supportive locker room as Werenski suggested. On the other hand, since we weren’t part of the meeting, or the discussion with Waddell regarding a possible Laine trade, we simply don’t know all the important information that would allow us to judge such a hostile action with any manner of accuracy.

While it’s understandable that professional athletes do not like losing, it’s also rather easy to see why Werenski got upset. Any player would react the same to hearing negative comments about his team.

In fact, I’m not sure how else anyone expected Werenski to react.

He’s using the comments, as overblown as they’ve been, as a rallying point for a franchise that has enjoyed very little success since joining the NHL.

Of course, it does not warrant actively trying to injure former teammates, as Lavoie suggested, but the comments were never going to be received with an open mind in Ohio. That’s simply not realistic given the circumstances and the history.

In the end, Laine spoke his truth, and I’d be a hypocrite for proposing it was a bad decision. One of the key aspects of maintaining strong mental health is to avoid lying to yourself, and the first step is telling the truth to others as often as possible. Lies do very little to help someone process a difficult situation.

Could Laine have taken the same route as the many disgruntled players before him, adopting a more positive attitude that includes half-truths and a heavy measure of sugar-coating?

Absolutely.

Can we fault Patrik Laine for avoiding lies? Absolutely not.

And while this molehill has certainly developed into a mountain, it’s probably a good time for everyone to take a step back and realize players go through different issues, and that not everyone will see eye-to-eye regarding locker-room health.

Such is life as a professional athlete.