Tortorella, Laine moving past drama of benching
Wednesday was moving day for the Blue Jackets, who are trying to move past the bubbling cauldron of Patrik Laine’s benching Monday as quickly and quietly as possible.
After an off day Tuesday that included headline-grabbing news about Mikko Koivu’s surprising retirement and Laine’s verbal mistreatment of an assistant coach — which prompted his benching in a 3-2 victory against Carolina — the Jackets got moving with a practice at Nationwide Arena.
Injured defenseman Zach Werenski also was in motion next door at the Ice Haus, going through a workout after sustaining a lower-body injury last Thursday.
But neither of those things were the most pressing examples of moving for the Blue Jackets, who said the Laine situation is in the past.
“We’re by it, and we’re getting ready to play Chicago (on Thursday),” coach John Tortorella said. “We’re done with it.”
Others including fans and reporters beg to differ. In short, whenever a young star player is benched four games into his stint with a new team — which traded its own young star to get him — it’s kind of a big deal. And when the reason is, essentially, insubordination against an unnamed member of his new team’s coaching staff, the issue grows exponentially.
That’s where the Blue Jackets found themselves Wednesday, standing in the middle of the biggest stage in the sport feeling trapped under the sweat-inducing rays of the NHL spotlight.
No wonder Tortorella, Laine and captain Nick Foligno tried to turn down the heat.
“We are by it,” Tortorella insisted. “And I’m not speaking on the subject anymore. And don’t ask any of the players either, because we’ve just moved by it. Everything’s fine, guys.”
It’s fine?
“Everything’s fine,” he continued. “Thanks for asking, though.”
Tortorella didn’t disclose when he and Laine talked, but they did at some point Wednesday. They were spotted having a one-on-one chat shortly before the Jackets headed to the Ice Haus for work on the power play, but it’s unclear if that was their lone discussion.
Regardless, Laine will not have any further discipline measures on top of missing the final 6:19 of the second period plus all of the third on Monday. He is slated to play Thursday in Chicago.
On Wednesday he skated on a line centered by Jack Roslovic and spoke with reporters about the benching flap.
“That kind of stuff happens sometimes and, you know, everybody’s locked in, in the game, and stuff like that just happens sometimes,” Laine said. “But we’ve moved on. We’ve talked about it and it’s going to stay in the (locker) room. But all good now.”
Had something similar happened later in Laine’s tenure with the Jackets, it might not have been quite as big of deal. Instead, in only his fourth game, it made headlines.
“If that kind of stuff happens, like, you deserve to get benched,” Laine said. “That’s just the way it is. I feel like I was playing decent hockey and, you know, developing my game, every game. But now, we’re past that (situation).”
So he and the team are moving on, which is good news for the Jackets, who acquired him and Roslovic from the Winnipeg Jets for former disgruntled center
“We’ve talked about it and it’s going to stay in the (locker) room. But all good now.”
Patrik Laine
Pierre-luc Dubois and a third-round pick on Jan. 23.
The team’s hope is to keep both players in Columbus long-term and Laine, who has two years left of restricted free agency, said the benching incident shouldn’t poison the Blue Jackets’ chances of making that happen.
“No, absolutely not,” he said. “You know, I think that’s fair from the coach, that it doesn’t matter who you are. If you do something (wrong), you’ll get benched. That’s great to see for me. You don’t want to be the guy who’s getting benched, but now I’ve seen it for myself, that it doesn’t matter who you are or how well you have done (previously). You can get benched.”
Laine said he took something positive out of the situation and doesn’t think there will be further issues.
“I’ve loved my time here so far and I’m going to get better, for sure, so I don’t think it’s going to have (any) effect on my plans for the future,” he said.
Lineup juggling
The Blue Jackets’ depth at center took a hit with Koivu’s retirement, but it also created an opportunity for Kevin Stenlund to join the regular playing group.
Stenlund skated with Max Domi and Oliver Bjorkstrand as his wingers in practice and also manned the left side of the Jackets’ second power-play unit, where he’ll line up Thursday against the Blackhawks.
Tortorella said Boone Jenner likely will start out playing center in that game, keeping Alexandre Texier at left wing on a line with Mikhail Grigorenko, while defenseman Dean Kukan likely will be a healthy scratch.
Defenseman Andrew Peeke, a right-handed shot, is expected to make his season debut and play with Michael Del Zotto on the third defense pairing. Peeke hasn’t played in a game since last year in the regular season.
Merzlikins travels
Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who’s on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, traveled with the team to Chicago. Merzlikins has missed the past three games after being injured in practice last week.
Joonas Korpisalo is expected to make his fifth straight start Thursday, but who handles the backup role is unclear. The past two games it was Cam Johnson, who joined Korpisalo for practice, but he was assigned back to the taxi squad Tuesday.
Matiss Kivlenieks (lower body) might back up Korpisalo or it might be Merzlikins, if he’s cleared to return. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger