Laine calls out Jets coaching staff and teammates during contract standoff

This is starting to get ugly.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Laine calls out Jets coaching staff and teammates during contract standoff
Zuma Press

In case you missed the news yesterday, unsigned Winnipeg Jets restricted free agent Patrick Laine is taking his game to Switzerland while his agent and the Jets continue contract negotiations. Laine has officially joined SC Bern of the Swiss National League.

This news courtesy of Finnish hockey insider Sami Hoffren:



Hoffren goes on to  clarify that there’s currently no plan in place for Laine to play for Bern, just to train with the team for the time being.



The 21-year-old Laine is one of a handful of star RFAs in the NHL still waiting on a new contract. Mikko Rantanen, Brayden Point, Matthew Tkachuk and Jets teammate Kyle Connor are also all without a contract for the upcoming season. But, while the above mentioned players have mostly been quiet to the media on matters concerning their neogtiations, Laine hasn’t been shy about sharing his opinion.

In fact, when interviewed by Finnish language reporter Pekka Jalonen just yesterday about matters, Laine had some rather interesting comments concerning his usage and linemates in Winnipeg.

Check it out:





In other words: “Stop playing me with Bryan Little and Adam Lowry.” 

The Jets’ top line of Mark Schiefele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor isn’t likely to be broken up anytime soon, especially once Connor signs a new deal, so it’ll be up to Laine to work himself into a better position. He did end up playing significant minutes with Nikolaj Ehlers last season, but it’s more than likely that Laine would prefer to play with Schiefele as his centre.

In any case, Laine’s words are sure to cause a stir in Winnipeg this morning.

Source: Rick Ralph