Jets Should Consider Reuniting With Patrik Laine

“Winnipeg Is Good”, Patrik Laine famously declared in his 2018 article.

Would it be a good place for the Finn to revitalize his stalled career?

Laine’s Career Has Gone Downhill Since 2021 Trade Out of Winnipeg

Laine is coming off the worst season of his professional career, in which he played just five games at the beginning of the campaign with the Montreal Canadiens and recorded just one assist. A core-muscle injury that required surgery ruled him out for four months and even after he got healthy, the now 28 year old never got back into their lineup; he watched every game of Montreal’s run to the Eastern Conference Final from the press box.

His downfall is equal parts swift and strange.

When Laine began his career with the Jets, it seemed like nothing in the world could stop him. An instant NHL superstar at age 18, the 2016 second-overall pick burst onto the scene by scoring 36 goals in his rookie campaign, then 44 in his sophomore season, then 30 in his third. His wicked wrist shot and booming one-timer were massive threats on the power play and he produced many memorable moments, including a five-goal game in 2018 that won a local pastor a cool $1 million. He endeared himself to Winnipeggers with his shaggy beard, article praising Winnipeg, brutal honesty in interviews, and general pleasant demeanour in addition to his play. It’s hard to believe now, but there really was legitimate, good-faith debate among NHL pundits over who was better: he or 2016 first-overall pick Auston Matthews.

But then came 2020 and the rumours he wanted a change of scenery; the Jets ultimately traded him after one game in 2020-21 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had some good moments there over his first few seasons but suffered numerous injuries, struggled with his mental health, and never reached the statistical heights he did in Winnipeg. Over the past three seasons, he’s been more or less irrelevant with 43 points in 75 games and a stint in the NHLPA Players Assistance Program. The 2024 trade to the Canadiens didn’t do him any good, and they let him walk into unrestricted free agency.

Signing Laine Would Be PR Win, But Would It Be a Win on the Ice?

There’s no doubt Laine was a fan favourite in Winnipeg, as the huge number of #29 jerseys still in the crowd at Canada Life Centre on any given night illustrate. Signing him would be public-relations dream for True North Sports & Entertainment and give them a lot of good will from a good portion of the fanbase at a time they don’t have much considering the disappointing, playoff-less 2025-26. It’d certainly help them sell some tickets, and the “welcome back to Winnipeg” social media posts write themselves.

Signing Laine would be a win for the front office’s bottom line, but would it be a win for the Jets on the ice?

Laine is a flawed player who isn’t much use at even strength. While he began evolving into a well-rounded player toward the end of his tenure in Winnipeg, it’s clear he doesn’t have much interest, if any, in putting in a 200-foot effort these days.

Given his reputation as a power-play merchant and someone who gets very down on himself very quickly when he’s not producing, any contract the Jets were to tender him would have to be low risk for the team. It would have to be short-term with a low base salary — perhaps $2 million — and include various performance-based incentives (unlike last summer’s disastrous Jonathan Toews contract that gave him lucrative bonuses based on only games-played milestones.)

The Jets got almost no cheap secondary scoring last season, and Laine could give them that just as he did from 2016-19, when he potted 110 goals and put up 184 points while costing just $2.775 million total on his entry-level contract.

The Jets have more than $5 million of cap space still available, and signing him would certainly represent an interesting final move to their offseason after signing defenceman Mario Ferraro and goaltender Stuart Skinner on July 1.

Winnipeg Could Be Good For Laine Again

There have been some reports and many rumours over the years since Laine’s departure that Laine wanted out of Winnipeg because he was more or less bullied throughout his tenure by ultra-serious captain Blake Wheeler. The Jets’ locker-room culture was undoubtedly broken then —Wheeler was ultimately stripped of his captaincy by Rick Bowness the season after the Laine trade — but is strong and inclusive now under Adam Lowry’s leadership. Winnipeg could now be a place that offers Laine an opportunity to reset himself as a person in addition to an NHLer.

In his 2018 article, Laine rejected the perceptions Winnipeg often gets from players around the NHL:

“I mean, I heard some guys talking bad about the city and that Winnipeg was not a good place. What do they know? I love Winnipeg. This is my home. These are my people now. I play for them. It’s a great, great city. Everyone who lives here really cares about one another, that’s what stands out to me. We are one group, all of us. Everybody is your neighbor.”

Could it be a home for him, and could Jets fans become his people, again?