"Announce him to Jets" "Born to be a Maple Leaf": NHL fans react as Patrik Laine gets cleared to return from player assistance program

On Friday, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine was cleared to return from the NHL's Player Assistance Program. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that while Laine is still recovering from shoulder surgery, his progress with the player assistance program has gone well. As a result, he is now cleared to return from the program, with teams free to contact him.

While there's still a possibility that he remains in Columbus, the most likely scenario is that the two sides will work together to find a suitable trade destination to give Laine a fresh start.

Details regarding why players are in the player assistance program aren’t made public nor shared with teams. Because of that, fans and the Blue Jackets organization have both been left in the dark regarding the situation, with the exception being information Laine’s agent has passed along to the team.

As the Blue Jackets general manager, Don Waddell, explained, the information he has received about Laine's time in the player assistance program had been promising.

Immediately, NHL fans were quick to react to the news.

"Born to be a Maple Leaf," a fan wrote.

"Announce Laine to Jets," another added.

"Patrick Laine YOU ARE a Minnesota Wild," a fan wrote.

Some fans joked about his future being outside of the NHL:

"Guangdong tiger," one wrote.

"Future member of the Beijing Hockey hall of fame," a fan said.

Others congratulated Laine on being reinstated:

"This is so good to hear," a fan wrote.

"Good on him," another added.

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Looking at Patrik Laine’s future, could the Columbus Blue Jackets retain him?

While many of the fans responded to the latest news regarding Patrik Laine with predictions regarding where the forward would land, there’s still a chance he remains with the Blue Jackets organization.

Laine had expressed his desire for a fresh start with another team, however, considering he still has two more years left on the four-year deal worth $34 million that he signed heading into the 2022-23 season, the team will either have to trade him, or buy him out.

From the sounds of things, a buyout is unlikely to happen with Columbus instead looking to find a trade partner in order to give Patrik Laine a fresh start. On Thursday, Columbus GM Don Waddell spoke on TSN 1050 about Laine’s future.

As he explained, the team will look to honor his trade request, however, if a suitable deal doesn’t emerge, the two sides may be forced to reconcile.

“I can't rule out any options, even returning here because it takes two teams to make a trade and if there's not a trade that makes any sense to us, then we have to just deal with what reality is.

"Andy Scott told him multiple times that we will make sure we look at everything and know the situation, and we know Patrik's feelings and we can find the right fit, certainly we will do that. But, if not, we'll have to just deal with it.”

Of course, Laine is also recovering from a shoulder injury, which could wind up playing into his trade value, and trade talks between the Blue Jackets and other teams around the league. With plenty of options on the table, it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out as Columbus shops Laine around on the trade market ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season.