2016 was a banner year for Canadian NHL teams, depending on what you mean by “banner.” The Toronto Maple Leafs got the first pick, followed by the Winnipeg Jets at No. 2, followed by Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary at No. 4, 5 and 6. Montreal and Ottawa didn’t have much better picks at No. 8 and No. 10. The picks had varying degrees of success, but all eyes were on Toronto and Winnipeg and the Auston Matthews vs. Patrik Laine debate.
It may seem silly now, since Matthews was named the next captain of the Maple Leafs while Laine was just traded for a former third-round pick and Columbus even had to throw in a sweetener to do it, but there was a time when Matthews vs. Laine was seriously discussed.
“There are valid counterarguments, and I wouldn’t fault any team for preferring Matthews. Laine carries risk. Laine’s lack of a complete game and Matthews’ extra season to prove himself – and at an extremely high level – mitigate the risk of his projection. He could be one of the game’s best players and a pivotal center for a decade. But I think Laine at least has a chance to be special, and I’d almost always give a chance at something special.”
– Corey Pronman
In some people’s eyes, it came down to Matthews being a center and Laine being a wing, and if Laine had been a center, he probably would have come out on top. Either way, it was a debate that many people assumed we would be having for years to come.
And in Laine’s first year as a Jet, the two players looked close. In Laine’s rookie season, he scored 36 goals and 64 points in 73 games. Pretty close to Matthews’ 40 goals and 69 points in 82 games. Matthews was named the Calders’ Rookie of the Year, but who knows if Laine played the full 82 games?
That was the next season, and Laine stepped up again, surpassing his rookie year goal and point totals and playing in all 82 games for the Jets. It was a better year statistically than Matthews, who missed 20 games due to injury, and in 2016 everything seemed to be going the way everyone predicted.
And who could forget that game? It was a defining moment in Laine’s young career. After trailing 4-0 in the second period, Laine and the Jets defeated Matthews and the Leafs thanks to a hat trick. The cherry on top was that Laine’s hat trick goal and overtime winner came right after Matthews had his own breakaway opportunity but was stopped by future teammate Michael Hutchinson.
A big criticism of Laine before he was signed was his 200-foot game, as he was viewed as a one-dimensional offensive player. But he fought against that by being a plus player in his first two seasons and making a fantastic defensive play, but it simply required one of the worst offensive decisions in recent memory:
In his second season, Laine even put up good numbers in the playoffs, where the Jets made it to the Western Conference finals, where they faced the Vegas Golden Knights, who they defeated in five games. But Laine scored only 12 points in 17 games.
Unfortunately, that was the peak of Laine’s career for now. His production dropped by 14 goals and 20 points in the same number of games. He also posted a much lower -24 rating and Auston Matthews began to pull away.
The following year, Laine’s goal production continued to decline and he also missed a large portion of the season. In fact, Laine was unable to play a full season after his third season.
