Hardly any other Finnish NHL player has seen the extremes of everyday life in the NHL like Patrik Laine. The winger, who has signed a four-year extension, is looking for an even steadier grip on the rink.
Eino Leino wrote about the swing of the gods already 120 years ago.
Who in the swing of the gods swings,
he doesn’t have long to live.
let him see the peaks –
then let the dark night come.
The poem is believed to tell about the fickle nature of the artist and the problems caused by the pain of creation. Leino experienced the highest peaks and the deepest troughs in his swing of the gods.
In top Finnish ice hockey, the most powerful experience is probably the swing of the gods Patrik Lainea. Laine has been in the NHL world at heights that few ever reach, but on the other hand, he has plowed in really deep waters at times.
The star at the NHL level was ignited in an instant, when Laine scored his first NHL hat trick in the fourth game of his career. There were 36 hits in the rookie season and 44 goals in the second season. On the other hand, hot periods have often been followed by weak periods, during which Laine has been heavily criticized.
The deepest Laine probably went in the spring of 2021 after the player trade from Winnipeg to Columbus.
– I don’t know if it’s right to say this, but I gave up in my first season in Columbus. The joy of playing was as missing as it can be. It was hard to do the work when I didn’t enjoy playing at all, Laine told Urheilu at his golf event at Nokia.
“A passing season here and there”
Laine is perhaps the most polarizing player in Finnish hockey history among the general public. Opinions are strong in both directions, whether it’s about performances on the ice or Laine’s colorful clothing choices on match days. From time to time it has felt that the weak episodes have colored the landscape around Laine a little too much.
Despite the well-deserved criticism, Laine has practically been a point-per-game player in the NHL since the fall of 2019, if the weak Columbus spring of 2021 is excluded from the calculations. If it is not counted, Laine has scored 122 (56+66) power points in his 125 previous games and is also on the plus side in the power statistics as much as a hit.
Laine has caused himself many headaches, but hardly any external pressure could have failed to raise the young man. Only 24-year-old Lainee has had enough other trials in her life, such as the sudden passing of her own father at the end of 2021.
– Shit comes to our people, that’s for sure. It doesn’t really matter what I do. But that’s okay, let’s eat the crap and move on, Laine laughed.
– There have been difficult moments here, but they are part of this job. This would be pretty boring if it always went well. One passing season here and there, because they have also learned from them. Difficult moments have been important places for growth. I claim that every difficult moment has been helpful, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time, Laine became serious.
The starting points for the starting season would seem to be right. Laine, who received her puck education in Tappara, assures that she trained hard and with high quality throughout the summer. In addition, Columbus-GM Jarmo Kekäläinen got a real superstar from Calgary next to the Tampere pier in the summer, who scored 115 power points last season Johnny Gaudreau.
If Laine scored a point per game last season alongside fluctuating and weaker teammates (56, 26+30=56), now completely different readings can be recorded on the board. The gods’ swing may swing again in the starting season to the heights it reached in the first seasons of its career.
– Last season I worked hard again, that’s where it started. I am very excited about the opportunity to play with Gaudreau. In the summer, for a long time, there was a feeling that we really got such a player. Without detracting from anyone, Gaudreau is certainly the hardest player I’ve played with, if such an opportunity arises.
– It could be that there will be a pretty nice result if we get on the same page.
Expected value through dollars
On the other hand, the result is also expected differently now. After long negotiations, Laine signed a four-year extension contract with the club, which guarantees the Tesoma man an income of more than 34 million euros. The expectations, both at the individual and team level, are now in a different category.
Laine must be able to carry the team from the scoring unit, and on the other hand, the team must be able to credibly fight for a playoff spot – these two themes go hand in hand.
– For me, it is enough that I play better than in previous seasons. I haven’t set profit targets, but on the other hand, we make such sums here that certain kinds of expectations come through it also in terms of numbers. As a team, of course, we’re going to win the whole thing. We’re not going there to play around.
– It is still good to remember that we are still one of the youngest teams in the series. Young people are constantly gaining age and experience. If we don’t make it this year, then in the next couple of years we will definitely have a tough time, Laine assured.
The NHL season starts in October. Like last season, will broadcast 25 matches and all the Stanley Cup finals live. The Finnish performances and highlights of the rounds can be viewed every morning on ‘s digital services.