Yesterday’s news was dominated with the benching of Patrik Laine by John Tortorella in Columbus. That sent rampant speculation that maybe Torts was seeking a way out from the Blue Jackets himself. I wrote that was unlikely and this latest report confirms that.
NHL Rumors: Patrik Laine mouthed off to a coach
Aaron Portzline is reporting today that the reason why Patrik Laine was benched was for “verbally disrespecting a member of the coaching staff.” Per the report, this was confirmed by sources with knowledge of what happened and not directly by Torts or the team.