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He didn’t mention he never did find a centre that would best utilize Laine’s talents until, ironically, the day he traded him.
Dubois might be that player. We’ll never know.
Cheveldayoff was quick to point out Laine played with No. 1 centre Mark Scheifele last season, but it was an analytical failure. OK.
It doesn’t take an advanced stats whiz to see Cheveldayoff has constructed a roster that doesn’t leave much wiggle room for Laine’s next contract. Instead of finding a way to make it work, he sent him packing.
Down on the dressing room floor, Wheeler was asked about his leadership role through all this, acknowledging, perhaps a little vaguely, he could have handled the rising star better on occasion.
“If I have any regrets, my regrets would be some of the frustrations that took place over the years,” the captain said, quickly adding he and Laine never fought, never yelled at each other.
So the regret?
“Maybe I could have communicated a little better instead of just getting frustrated,” Wheeler said, explaining when he did get frustrated with Laine, he just clammed up.
In the next breath, he says if anything he coddled the kid.
Ultimately, Wheeler didn’t think he could have made things better.
If the captain and the GM didn’t want to bear the brunt of the responsibility, the head coach claimed to be more than willing.
“That’s the environment that you’re trying to create for each player is for them to feel like they have the opportunity to be at their best,” Maurice said. “We were constantly trying to work on that, trying to constantly get to the point where Patrik appreciated who he was playing with and the opportunity he was given.
