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Blue Jackets healthy-scratch Patrik Laine as star's struggles come to a head
The slumping sniper, who also happens to be the Blue Jackets' third-highest paid player, found himself in the press box for Sunday's clash in Philadelphia.
Things are continuing to get worse for slumping star Patrik Laine.
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent made Laine a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Finnish sniper has three points in nine games and just one goal since returning from an upper-body injury five games ago.
“He's not happy about the decision, don't get me wrong," Vincent told reporters on Sunday. "Right now I think Patty needs to take a deep breath, go back to the working lab and get his touches back, get his shot back, and get his confidence back so he can be the Patrik Laine we know all know he can be."
Given how much Laine has struggled, the news shouldn’t come as a total shock. Especially in the wake of Vincent’s criticisms of Laine and fellow Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau after benching the two for most of the third period of Thursday’s’ game against the Arizona Coyotes. Laine sat for the final 9:53 of that contest, while Gaudereau missed the last 6:15.
"I coach a team," Vincent said on Thursday, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "I don't coach individuals. Those guys were going, they're going to play. That's what we've been doing all year.
Since being acquired by the Blue Jackets, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft hasn’t been able to replicate his superstar-level production from his early years in Winnipeg.
In his first four seasons with the Jets, Laine scored the seventh-most goals of any NHL player (138) and combined for 247 points in 305 games. Since arriving in Columbus, Laine has recorded 60 goals and 132 points in 165 games and hasn’t eclipsed the 30-goal plateau once, which he did in three of his four years in Winnipeg.
Laine inked a hefty four-year, $34.8-million deal with Columbus during the 2022 offseason which runs through 2025-26 and carries an annual cap hit of $8.7 million.
Columbus is currently in the midst of an eight-game losing streak entering Sunday's contest, and they sit last in the Eastern Conference with a 4-10-4 record.
