Wow.
Aaron Portzline from The athlete was a guest on Bishop & Friends on 97.1 The Fan on Tuesday morning in a segment that lasted less than 10 minutes.
But the comments in those eight minutes were more than enough to paint a vivid picture of the turmoil in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ locker room over the past few seasons. More specifically, Portzline described the problems with Patrik Laine, who was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday after a months-long saga.
In the segment – which you can listen to in full below – Portzline was asked for his thoughts on Laine’s comments to the press following the trade.
“What struck me was that it sounded a lot like the press conference he held in Columbus when he left Winnipeg,” Portzline said, referring to a similar press conference Laine held in 2021 after joining the Blue Jackets from the Winnipeg Jets.
Laine had also asked the Jets organization for a transfer.
But from there, things took a different turn: Portzline revealed details about what Laine’s departure from the team meant and how long it had been discussed internally.
“There is great relief in the organization, not only that the contract has expired, but that the matter has been resolved,” said Portzline. “If this had dragged on into training camp, that would have been really unfortunate.”
Much of that relief is surely due to new President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell, who joined the organization in June with a cultural reset at the top of his to-do list. Waddell has spoken openly about wanting to move on from Laine, but wants to get as much out of it as possible for himself.
As for the 26-year-old Laine, Portzline had an inkling when the striker knew he wanted to leave.
“I don’t think he ever got over (former head coach) Pascal Vincent cutting him from the roster … that relationship was strained at best,” Portzline said. “I think he (Laine) decided shortly after that he just couldn’t continue here. I think his broken collarbone healed long before his broken spirit, and I’m not sure that’s even healed yet.”
Laine and Vincent were very close during their time together in Winnipeg. Portzline added that Vincent was a staunch defender of Laine when the former Blue Jackets head coach originally joined the Columbus organization.
The interview took another turn when Portzline pointed out what happened when some of the team leaders were asked how to improve the culture.
“I also remember meeting with the veteran players; I think it was probably after the (20)19-20 season. If I remember correctly, it was Cam (Atkinson), it was Seth Jones, it was (Zach) Werenski, it was definitely (Nick) Foligno, maybe Gus Nyquist,” Portzline said.
“It was, ‘What do we need to do here to make this work? You know what a good (locker) room looks like, you’ve seen it,'” Portzline said. “And the players, who sometimes struggle with that, and you understand why, basically said, ‘You need to get Laine and (Elvis) Merzlikins out of here. That’s steps one and two.'”
“The organization heard that and said, ‘You know what, let’s get rid of the people who said that, not the people who mentioned it,'” Portzline said.
Foligno was traded at the April 2021 trade deadline, and Atkinson was traded just three months later. Jones left the club as a free agent at the same time and Nyquist was traded in another trade deadline in February 2023.
Merzlikins is still with the team and has three years left on his contract, which carries a salary cap hit of $5.4 million. Werenski, the team’s alternate captain, is the only player Portzline mentioned who is still on the team besides Merzlikins.
“You’re asking these people to bare their souls and they’re doing it and so you respond by sending them out instead of taking their suggestions,” Portzline said. “Think of the coldness that comes over the room. Never give your opinion here because that’s how it’s handled. Not directly, thank you for your input, we will respect your privacy.”
Reading between the lines, many of these issues were not adequately addressed by former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who was fired earlier this year. Waddell has efficiently and calculatedly fixed these mistakes in the past, but these notable comments from Portzline clearly show just how bad things were in the locker room.
You can listen to the entire interview here:
Aaron Portzline @Aportzline (#CBJ @TheAthletic) 08/20/24https://t.co/N15biWo3vi
— Bishop & Friends (@971BFS) 20 August 2024
