Comments from Patrik Laine: “you don’t need that in a locker room, bye bye, bye bye”

Patrik Laine should have kept his mouth shut. He should have done it before the game against the Blue Jackets last December, and he should have done it today as well.

For those who haven’t heard, the Finn sent a (not too subtle) message to Martin St-Louis today by saying that playing a lot with Finland will help him.

He also admitted that his game hasn’t been solid lately, but that’s probably because he realized he was losing it in front of the media. He surely also realized he was being filmed and that his words were being recorded.

Patrik Laine today on playing for Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off:

“To be able to get on the ice a little more definitely helps. It’s been kinda limited the past couple of weeks. With the guys I’m playing here, I’m hopefully gonna see more ice time. That’s gonna help… pic.twitter.com/EOI0JMJkvv

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) February 11, 2025

And yes, he should have kept his trap shut, once again.

But I think the timing is bad. He waited until he was no longer in the Montreal entourage to talk about his ice time. Patrick Friolet mentioned on 5 à 7 that the Finn was holding back from discussing his ice time in recent weeks… Yannick Bouchard did not take it well.

It gives us the impression of the man’s greatness. When the coach is not there [makes a sign to throw him under the bus]. That’s out, bye, you don’t need that in the locker room, bye bye, bye bye. – Yannick Bouchard

The way he plays and speaks right now, I’m not sure the Canadiens will revisit the Laine experience next season. Just a few days ago, I talked about a contract buyout.

Let’s hope he has a good tournament and can save his season with the CH afterward.

But back to his comments about his coach, let’s see if he will personally apologize. Mathieu Olivier admitted on the podcast The Cam & Strick Podcast that the Finn apologized to a few teammates for his controversial comments earlier in the season, but apparently not to Olivier, who he was very close to in Columbus.

Olivier says he hasn’t spoken to the winger since those comments. Clearly, the Jackets players still have it on their minds.

In brief
– It’s clear.

My latest for THN. Connor Bedard is going to be just fine. https://t.co/UV3TzO7ObR

— Ken Campbell (@Ken_Campbell27) February 11, 2025

– Will this be his only game?

Ward: This may be an audition for Binnington https://t.co/2jcjM9tzFY

— TSN 690 Montreal (@TSN690) February 11, 2025

– I don’t think they have a chance.

Why Finland can defy odds at 4 Nations Face-Off: ‘Sandpaper hockey. It works’ https://t.co/eXNPKOePon

— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 11, 2025

– Nice visit, indeed.

Great visit in the American camp