CBJWerenski8
Rest in Peace Johnny
- Jun 13, 2009
- 43,447
- 26,372
Interesting Info: Part XXII (Jackets-related "tidbits" here)
- Thread starter Double-Shift Lasse
- Start date
Iron Balls McGinty
Registered User
- Aug 5, 2005
- 9,061
- 7,123
Cowumbus
Registered User
Why leaking that now and not 3 years ago or later when both seeming headaches are finally gone?
just throwing this out there but it's probably worth noting that the meeting in question here immediately preceded the following:
- laine's play getting substantially better for the next two seasons
- jones getting traded and signing an albatross deal that he'll never live up to
- atkinson getting traded to philly, where he eventually got bought out and was a huge disappointment
portzline's hinted at this for a long time. unlikely to get any pushback from the team now that most parties involved (laine, jarmo, jones, nyquist, atkinson) are gone.
not sure if it's telling that he brought elvis's name into it while he's still here.
Cowumbus
Registered User
Me thinks this isn’t about their/his play on the ice.
Cujorulesdtown9
More Blue Pants
I've thought Laine was a douche for a long time. What I was less sure of was whether or not that was a fit in the locker room. This is a good sign for the locker room moving forward imo.
Cyclones Rock
Registered User
- Jun 12, 2008
- 10,855
- 6,964
Jarmo's ability to evaluate the character/personalities of players was one of his weaker points among his many.
I hope Laine has found some peace of mind and does well in Montreal. I'm not so sure that he really understood how easy he had it in Columbus in terms of media and fans. Montreal eats em up and spits em out on a (close to) Toronto/NY level.
I hope Laine has found some peace of mind and does well in Montreal. I'm not so sure that he really understood how easy he had it in Columbus in terms of media and fans. Montreal eats em up and spits em out on a (close to) Toronto/NY level.
Cyclones Rock
Registered User
- Jun 12, 2008
- 10,855
- 6,964
Good point. Having cohesion in the locker room is essential. The bad actors all need to go.
I'll speculate that if Elvis creates much trouble then he'll be sent to Cleveland, loaned overseas or deactivated in short order.
There are new sheriffs in town and the inmates aren't going to run the asylum this season.
- Dec 31, 2017
- 3,001
- 3,398
The room seemed to turn to crap after that. They were telling the team to move on from a couple of guys that they have finally moved and tried to move. I think it was a misstep. Yeah, they got a couple decent seasons from Laine, but the team still wasn't good, and Elvis was/is a mess.
MissADD
Registered User
Forget Laine and Elvis drama, this is the real news we should be discussing.
you asked how laine defenders (a position which i've found myself taking on this board) would interpret the tidbit from portzline, i answered. there's also a lot of context that you're wilfully ignoring.
they were saying that laine wasn't a good fit in the room. i'm not doubting them. but the two loudest voices in that room (jones and atkinson) were both not in the team's plans moving forward. another (nyquist) had literally not played the entire season.
there was no reason for jarmo to move laine immediately and at a loss based on his poor fit in a room that he was going to blow up anyway.
they also had a soft-spoken first-time captain, two first-time head coaches and a third coach who got fired before camp after being publicly backed amid scandal by said captain.
the room was going to crap anyway, and for a ton of other reasons than "these two guys aren't particularly well-liked"
- Dec 31, 2017
- 3,001
- 3,398
But, if you move on from the guys they wanted out, with a completely different locker room dynamic, how much different does Larsen look. Do we even get to Vincent, or Babcock, do we move another good locker room guy in Bjorkstrand if we end up with Gaudreau anyway. Moving on from those two earlier could have changed everything.
Forget Laine and Elvis drama, this is the real news we should be discussing.
Experience Myers Jewelers!
Well, Torts had seen the writing on the wall and wanted out before that.
but elvis + laine didn't "want out" at that point. in fact, seth jones – who was part of that meeting – had already told the team he wasn't going to stay.
the reality of that meeting is that it was two guys who had shaped the dynamics of the room but weren't going to be around much longer complaining about the dynamics they had created in the room.
also, laine was (by far) the team's best forward during larsen's two years – taking him out of the equation wouldn't have benefitted the team, or saved larsen's job. elvis may be a different story, but the defense was so porous that i'm not sure it would've mattered.
sure – but those same "leaders in the room" (foligno in particular) convinced him to come back for one more year after the covid bubble. the PLD thing killed any momentum (and destroyed the way they'd built the roster) early in that season and it was clear from that point that torts was checked out.
it was already a dysfunctional room when laine got there. the guys who built that room's culture were all on the way out anyway.
- Dec 31, 2017
- 3,001
- 3,398
I don't think they were complaining about the dynamics they created, more what two guys were bringing to the team that they didn't like.
CBJWerenski8
Rest in Peace Johnny
- Jun 13, 2009
- 43,447
- 26,372
This report isn’t new. I remember we all laughed about it years ago, and framed Portzline as being anti Laine for saying it.
Wow, It’s all actually true. Jarmo literally destroyed the team, and for what reason??
You’re missing a name. Again, as I’ve reiterated MANY times, a goalie, especially a “starting goalie” has to be looked at as more important when looking at how they are perceived or liked in the locker room. To make it simple, having a goalie your team does not “like” IS TERRIBLE. How did Jarmo and JD allow this to happen, for this long or at all??
Think this is actually a pretty big deal. Has Portzline gotten the “ok” to drop some extra info at this point?? Elvis will certainly handle this terribly whenever he’s asked about it. Could it impact/add to any possible destinations for him now? I could see him lash out in some way at Portzline at some point also.
Jarmo/JD, and the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, chose Patrik Laine and Elvis Merzlikins over John Tortorella and the “core” that led the team to consistent regular season success and repeated playoff appearances.
How do you seem to think you know so much about everything? You go on these imagination trips and start acting like the things in your head, have actually happened. You honestly think it was JUST those 2 players who had a problem with Elvis/Laine then? You think it was just the small group of an handful of “aging vets”?
And what about now? Laine was just traded. You don’t think the majority of (new) players think the exact same things about both guys, or I guess now just 1 guy, right now?
The NHL isn’t fantasy hockey. Goals against count and are just as important as goals scored. You’re literally ignoring the negative impact he has and the fact that his teammates LITERALLY don’t want to play with him, yet, at the same time have been forced to feed the puck to the dude and put him in the easiest positions to succeed.
WHAT!?! Link please.
“Portzline”
———
I’m to the point/ feeling where you suspect your significant other is or has been cheating on you, and then you actually get confirmation….
Last edited:
reality and satire are hard enough to distinguish online at this point as it is, but getting we're dangerously close to an earnest "my wife left me" post, and i don't think there's any way we can top that.
I can't keep living this lie anymore. It was me. OK? IT WAS ME! ... and she loved every minute of it. I barely made it out before you got home last Thursday.
PS You're out of High Life.
Last edited:
- Dec 31, 2017
- 3,001
- 3,398
I seem to remember this coming out before and like CBJWerenski8 said, people were saying it was Portzline hating on Laine.
