Winnipeg Jets Should Consider Reuniting With Patrik Laine – Hockey Writers –

“Winnipeg is OK”, Patrik Laine famously declared in his 2018 headline.

Would it be a good place for Finn to revive his stagnant career?

Laine’s Work Down From 2021 Winnipeg Trade

Laine is coming off the worst season of his professional career, in which he played just five games early in the campaign with the Montreal Canadiens and recorded one assist. A back injury that required surgery sidelined him for four months and even after he was healthy, the now 28-year-old never returned to their lineup; watched all of Montreal’s games going to the Eastern Conference Final from the press box.

His downfall is equal parts swift and strange.

When Laine started his career with the Jets, it seemed like nothing in the world could stop him. The NHL’s fastest star at 18, the 2016 second-rounder burst onto the scene by scoring 36 goals in his rookie campaign, then 44 in his second season, and 30 in his third. His wicked wrist shot and one-time surge were big threats on the power play and he produced many memorable moments, including a five-goal game in 2018 that earned the local pastor a cool $1 million. He endeared himself to Winnipeggers with his flowing beard, Winnipeg-admiring title, brutal honesty in conversation, and general good manners above his game. It’s hard to believe it now, but there really was a legitimate, honest debate among NHL experts about who was better: him or 2016 first-choice Auston Matthews.

But 2020 came with rumors that he wanted a change of scenery; the Jets eventually traded him after one game in 2020-21 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had some good times there in his first few seasons but suffered multiple injuries, suffered from mental health problems, and never reached the statistical heights he did in Winnipeg. Over the past three seasons, he has been inactive with 43 points in 75 games and the NHLPA Players Assistance Program. The 2024 trade to the Canadiens didn’t help him at all, and they allowed him to enter unrestricted free agency.

Signing Laine Could Be A PR Win, But Could It Be A Victory On The Ice?

There is no doubt that Laine was a fan favorite in Winnipeg, as a large number of #29 jerseys are still in the crowd at the Canada Life Center on any given night. Signing him would be a public relations dream for True North Sports & Entertainment and give them a lot of excitement from a good portion of the fans at a time when they don’t have much considering the disappointing, incomplete 2025-26. It can really help them sell some tickets, and the social media posts “Welcome to Winnipeg” write themselves.

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

Laine is a flawed player who is underutilized in power. While he started to transition into a solid player towards the end of his time in Winnipeg, it’s clear that he doesn’t have much, if any, interest in making a 200-metre effort these days.

Given his reputation as a power-play merchant and someone who quickly decommissions himself if he doesn’t produce, any contract the Jets would give him would be a 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 solely on mental performance.)

The Jets didn’t get any cheap secondary goals last season, and Laine can provide that as he did from 2016-19, when he scored 110 goals and put up 184 points while costing just $2.775 million in his entry-level contract.

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

Winnipeg could be good for Laine as well

There have been many reports and rumors over the years since Laine’s departure that Laine wanted out of Winnipeg because he was being bullied throughout his tenure by over-zealous captain Blake Wheeler. There’s no doubt that the Jets’ locker room culture was broken at the time—Wheeler was eventually stripped of his captaincy by Rick Bowness the season after the Laine trade—but he’s strong and engaging now under the leadership of Adam Lowry. Winnipeg could now be the place that gives Laine a chance to establish himself as more than just an NHLer.

In his 2018 article, Laine rejected the comments Winnipeg often receives from players around the NHL:

“I mean I’ve heard guys talking bad about the city and that Winnipeg is not a good place, what do you know, I love Winnipeg, this is my home, these are my people now, I play for them, it’s a big, big city, everyone lives here. indeed you care about each other, that’s what stands out to me. We are one team, all of us. Everyone is your neighbor.”

Can it be home for him, and can Jets fans be his people too?