Summer Spotlight: Laine focused on seeing the Jackets become a winner

Number: 29

Birth date: April 19, 1998 (age 25)

Birthplace: Tampere, Finland

Height, Weight:6-5, 205

2022-23 Stats: 55 GP, 22-30-52

Contract: Signed through 2025-26 season (Three years remaining until UFA status)

Patrik Laine had the second-most points per game of his NHL career this past season, but the overwhelming emotion he had when the campaign ended was frustration.

The star CBJ forward was injured in game one and ended up missing time for four different injuries/illnesses. While he still produced when he was on the ice, he missed 27 contests, and most importantly, the Blue Jackets struggled out of the gate and ended up near the back of the pack in the NHL standings.

"It was an interesting year," Laine said at its conclusion. "Obviously had high hopes for this year and was feeling really good before the season started, and obviously getting hurt the first game and in and out of the lineup very now and then. It was definitely not ideal, but you just get unlucky sometimes. Obviously have to do a better job of making sure that doesn't happen but just try to stay healthy from now on."

If Laine can do that, it would be a boon to the Blue Jackets, who are a better team when the Finnish standout going into his eighth NHL season is filling up the net with goals. He retains one of the most lethal shots in the league, one that allowed him to post eight power-play tallies this past season.

This summer, he's already returned to Columbus, largely because he said he loves the city. He remains open to a potential move to center, one that the Blue Jackets experimented with a season ago, and said his goal is very simple for the Blue Jackets this upcoming season.

"We'll try to win," he said. "That's why we're here. We didn't come here (just) to make the playoffs. Well, you have to do that first, but we came here to win. That's why I'm here, so that's what I'm focused on."

Top Moment of 2022-23

Who doesn't like Hat Trick Laine content? The Finnish dynamo has two hat tricks in CBJ colors, the latest coming Jan. 14 in a game at Detroit. Laine was a key cog in the Blue Jackets' 4-3 victory, scoring twice in the first period and adding the hatty goal in the second.

Laine's Top Highlights

Video: Patrik Laine's top plays of 2022-23

Stat to Know

We mentioned the hat trick above, and it put Laine in some rare company among NHLers when it comes to three-goal games. Laine now has 10 career hat tricks, a number that ranks ninth among active players in the league. Of those nine players, Laine is the youngest at age 25, a year younger than Connor McDavid, whose 12 hat tricks tie him for fifth with Sidney Crosby. The next closest players among those who debuted since the 2016-17 season when Laine first skated in the NHL? Carolina's Sebastian Aho and Toronto's Auston Matthews, who each have seven hat tricks.

2023-24 Expectations

With great skill comes great responsibility in the NHL. Laine is one of the most gifted players in the NHL, as very few make the hardest thing in hockey -- scoring goals -- look so easy when he's on, and he's a surefire top-six forward for the Blue Jackets. But he's reached the age where for the Blue Jackets to truly become a contender, he not only has to stay healthy, he has to be one of the team's most productive players on a night in and night out basis. He speaks glowingly of the city of Columbus and his teammates, and now in his fourth year with the Blue Jackets, is this the year it all comes together and he challenges the CBJ single-season goal record?

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