Patrik Laine reveals why it was a no-brainer for him to re-sign for multiple years and it wasn't money-related
Just ten days after The Columbus Blue Jackets signed the biggest free agent of the off season, Johnny Gaudreau, to a massive seven year contract worth $68.25 million, the excitement of this upcoming year is starting to kick in for another young superstar.
Patrik Laine, 24, who also just signed a big contract yesterday for four years with an AAV of $8.7 million, has expressed his excitement to be playing with "Johnny Hockey" this season, admitting that the big play for the 115-point winger renewed his love for the game.
Laine is coming off a season which saw him amass 26 goals and contribute 30 assists for 56 points in 56 games. Those numbers aren't bad at all, especially considering he didn't have a player like Johnny Gaudreau to play alongside. After playing his way to the first point-per-game season of his career, Laine stands a reasonably good chance of not only replicating his level of production next season, but possibly even exceeding it.
In the past, Laine has shown that he is an elite goal scorer, hitting the 40-goal mark once, and the 30-goal mark twice. Having the opportunity to play with an elite playmaker like Gaudreau feeding him the puck, Laine will be a scary figure for NHL goaltenders next season. The fact Laine said he's excited alone is scary. All teams should be put on high alert this year when facing the Blue Jackets, because there won't be any more easy wins in Columbus.
