‘I already like the guy’: Torts, as Patrik Laine era begins in Columbus

“He’s a genuine guy,” Laine said of Wheeler. “When he comes to the rink he’s always going to work as hard as he can. There’s always frustration going on, but I don’t think we ever fought or had that big of a argument. It was always really good, really professional. He always tried to help the young guys, and obviously did that for me as a young guy.”As for why his relationship with the Jets soured to the point of forcing the Jan. 23 trade, Laine did a little stickhandling.

“I didn’t make the trade, so it’s hard to say,” he began. “But like I said before… they have a lot of real good players. Guys like Andrew Copp, he’s been off to an awesome start. So they have a lot of good players in the lineup, and it was just better for me and for the team that they get a centre to that team. It was tough… but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”

The topic switched to his new team, and Laine lit up when asked if he’d seen the billboards that welcomed him, in his native tongue, to Columbus.

“Oh yeah, I saw it,” Laine said. “Took a picture of it right away. I had to. It’s awesome. They put a lot of time and effort into it. It’s obviously a big, warm welcome for me and makes me feel really good about the city right away and the people.”

The Blue Jackets took out billboards for Roslovic, too, welcoming him back to his hometown.

It took Laine a week longer to get to Columbus because of a delay getting his visa.He had to serve just a 48-hour quarantine, before joining his new teammates in time for Tuesday’s morning skate.