After a point-per-game season, Laine wants even more with Blue Jackets

One year ago, Patrik Laine spoke two days after the Blue Jackets season ended and could only talk about the disappointment of a tough season.
"I'm not going to make any excuses -- I just wasn't good enough," Laine said after he scored 10 times in 45 games in his CBJ debut campaign of 2021.
"I'll be better next year," he added.

Was he ever.
The mood was demonstrably different when Laine met with the media Saturday afternoon after a bounce-back campaign during the recently concluded season.
Fighting through a pair of injuries that cost him 26 games as well as the loss of his father during the season, Laine was again one of the few players in the NHL who makes goal-scoring look easy. For the first time in his career, he finished as a point-per-game player, notching a 26-30-56 line in 56 games that included one of the hottest streaks of his career when he tallied 19 goals in 22 games from late January through mid-March.

"Last year when I talked about it, I didn't want to go back to that and needed to take a step toward the right direction to being the same Patty that I was in Winnipeg," Laine said Saturday. "And I feel like there's so much more that I can offer. I feel like it was a good step for me. I just have to take the next step for next year. I'm definitely going to do that and do everything I can to make it happen."
The scary part for the NHL -- and the exciting part for the Blue Jackets -- is there might even be more in the tank for Laine. After all, the Finland native just turned 24, and while his six seasons in the NHL seem like an eternity, there's still a lot of ground Laine can cover when it comes to being a better player.
Head coach Brad Larsen sees how far the star winger has come in the past year but also how much more Laine might be capable of.
"He wanted it so bad (last year), and sometimes you want it so bad, it goes the other way," Larsen said. "One thing you get to know about Patrik when you're around him is he really cares, he's got a great heart and he's a great person. So last year, there was lots of discussion on how it went and the frustration and how do we grow from that.
"This year he came in with a fresh restart. He had a tremendous camp. He got hurt, went through a long rehab and during that process, he lost his father, which was devastating to him. So for that two months, he skated about four times. After a long break, we got him in and he started to find his game.
"I think his whole attitude had changed on how he was going to approach it, and the work that he's put in behind the scenes that nobody gets to see has really grown. And I think there's a whole 'nother level he can get to. Again, he's 23. This isn't a 30-year-old player that his best years are behind him. If he keeps chipping away at these things and grow, he's gonna be a tremendous player when his prime comes, and we're still years away from that I think."
Again, a scary thought for those who have to go up against one of the premier shooters in the NHL. Laine was back to being Laine from the very beginning of the year, notching a pair of overtime winners in the first four games, and his 26 goals in 56 games computes out to a 38-goal pace in an 82-game season. On the whole, he finished with five multigoal games, seven game-winning goals and 21 even-strength goals, the best pace of his career in that regard.
Laine's 30 assists were also the second most in his career, and he had 17 games on the season with multiple points. While his ability to shoot the puck is what makes most of the headlines in the NHL, Laine also showcased tremendous passing skill throughout the season.
But while the on-ice numbers were back to Laine-like levels, perhaps the biggest thing that came of the season was Laine developing a comfort and rapport with his teammates that was hard to build when he first arrived in Columbus. He was traded to the team mere days into the 2021 season, when COVID restrictions kept players from mingling both at home and on the road, and in a frustrating year on the ice, it was hard to fit in off of it as well.
A year later, it's fair to say things have come a long way, in part because he was able to lean on his teammates through both the bad times and good.
"It's been a pleasure coming to the rink every day," Laine said. "Everybody has been helpful with all that I had this year. Just always wanted to come back as soon as possible to these guys, and they have made it a lot easier for me, so I'll always be thankful for everyone here. So yeah, that's definitely a part of it, a big part of what I love about his team. It's like a big family, family atmosphere, everybody cares about each other. That's how it should be.
It's fair to say the feeling was mutual.
"Coming into this year, having a normal training camp, 82-game schedule, he knew a lot of players from last year," captain Boone Jenner said. "We just grew. The more you're around somebody, the more you hang out with them, play with them, practice with one another, you're going to build those bonds. I thought it was great."
Now there's the matter of a contract. Laine played this year under the one-year qualifying offer he inked offseason, and now he's a restricted free agent again. The Blue Jackets are able to match any contract offer sent his way, and after a successful season, Laine said he wants to be with the team.
"I don't think it should be an issue, you know?" he said. "They have expressed they want me here, I've said the same thing. So you know, the feeling is mutual. Just figure out the term and the money and all that and I think we should be fine."
Why is that?
"I think it's just the group we have," Laine said "We have a great group of guys, guys I got to be really close with and excited about the youth we have and the opportunities we're going to have in a couple of years. I definitely want to be a part of it and playing here, playing in front of these great fans. I love the city. I love everything about being here. It's that simple."