Well Jets fans, it’s the end of an era.
On Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets dealt 2016 first-round pick Patrik Laine, along with 2015 first-round pick Jack Roslovic to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for the player taken right after Laine in 2016, centre Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third round pick. Blockbuster? Yeah, ya just don’t see trades like these too often but the deal evolved around two players looking for a change of scenery. PLD received just 3:55 last Thursday and the writing was on the wall. As for Patty? Well, it’s a little unclear as to why he wanted to leave Winnipeg so badly, but regardless… Jets captain Blake Wheeler is taking responsibility for him being unhappy in his situation.
Perhaps Wheels was just trying to be the beauty captain he is by shouldering some of the blame, but he did admit he could have communicated better with the young forward rather than get frustrated with him in the past. He gave a pretty elaborate answer when asked about the move:
Wow. That’s a lot to take in.
Some of Patrik’s frustration seemed to stem from opportunity. Despite scoring 44 bangers in the 2017-18 season, the 22-year-old was never given a permanent spot on the top line with Mark Scheifele because it’s been occupied by Wheeler since he entered the league. In Columbus, Laine will surely receive top-line minutes and be relied on to produce offence for a Columbus team with not a whole lot going on up front.
What’s done is done, but it’s clear the captain has some regrets with how things went down since 2016. With PLD now in town, Winnipeg has one of the best 1-2 punches at centre in the league. Hopefully we can see the two square off against their old squads in the 2021-2022 season.
(H/T Mike McIntyre)
