Starring For Finland

I'll be very honest in saying that I'm still troubled by the trade that led to Patrik Laine no longer playing home games in Winnipeg. I understand that the NHL is a business and that players - even Wayne Gretzky - can be traded, but it was hard for me to comprehend why the Jets would want to move an elite goal scorer who wanted to be in Winnipeg. If players want to live in a city that's better known for brutal cold and its harsh winters, it would seem that the Jets would want to hold onto those players like they were their own children, but, as we know, Laine was shipped off with Jack Roslovic to Columbus in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Since the deal went down, Laine has yet to play in the playoff for the Blue Jackets, and his average of 52 games per season hasn't quite lived up to the billing that the Columbus Blue Jackets may have thought they were getting. In 156 games for the Blue Jackets over three seasons, Laine has 58 goals and 71 assists so he's still scoring, but I imagine GM Jarmo Kekäläinen may have thought he'd get a little more out of the Finnish star.

Perhaps Laine just needs a few comforts from home to get him back to his high-scoring ways. That could happen next month as the Finnish sniper has decided to play for Finland at the 2023 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. As you may know, Laine is from Tampere originally, so this could be the opportunity for him to rediscover what made him the second-overall pick in 2016. Playing in front of friends and family always fires up players, and Laine will have all of them cheering him on.

Let's not forget that Laine went to the World Championships in 2016 as an 18 year-old, and he was named the tournament MVP after scoring seven goals and five assists in ten games. Granted, he's older and wiser now where he may pick his spots a little better, but there's no doubt that Laine still has the gift of denting twine and I'm pretty sure the Finns are going to try to have him show that talent whenever he's on the ice. It could be exactly the kind of start to his summer training that will benefit the Blue Jackets in 2023-24!

One has to think that Nashville's Juuse Saros will be guarding the Finnish net in a few weeks, and we may see the likes of Arizona's Matias Maccelli, Pittsburgh's Mikael Granlund, St. Louis' Kasperi Kapanen, and Montreal's Joel Armia joining Laine up front. On the blue line, Calgary's Juuso Välimäki, Detroit's Olli Määttä, and Philadelphia's Rasmus Ristolainen would all be near the top of the dept chart for the initial roster being put together by Finland. Depending on what happens with Florida and Carolina in their series, we could see some other big names join Finland for the start of the tournament as well. We could very well have a star-studded Finnish team when the tournament begins!

Having Laine playing in his hometown alongside guys he grew up with and played with throughout his formative years could be the catalyst in unleashing the Laine that Winnipeggers had grown to appreciate in 2016-17 and 2017-18 when he scored 80 times in those two seasons. Laine was also throwing heavy checks as his physical game emerged, and his defensive game was just starting to show returns before the Jets packaged him up for Dubois. Again, I feel like the Jets franchise gave up on a guy who just loves scoring goals way too quickly, and he seemingly never found his stride in Columbus since the trade.

If nothing else, I just want to see the big smile and the fist-pump he always gave after every goal as the fans in Tampere shower their NHL star with praise for his goal-scoring talents. A happy Laine is a Laine havin fun on the ice, and that usually means he's scoring goals. While teams like Sweden and the US may not want to see that as they'll be playing in the same pool at the World Championship, getting Patrik Laine scoring once again is good for Laine, good for the NHL, and good for the game.

Scoring goals is hard enough at any level, let alone the NHL, but Patrik Laine has shown he has the talent in spades. It may be in hiding right now as he navigated Columbus' system, but getting to bury pucks with his national teammates will go a long way in helping both Finland and Columbus try to achieve their ultimate goals: winning a championship!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!