It was a forgetful year for Winnipeg Jets winger Patrik Laine.
In the final year of his entry-level deal, the 21-year-old had a lot to prove as he approached RFA status. And to start the year, it looked like 2018-19 would be his best season to date — and in the most important year of his career thus far to boot.
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In his first 24 games, Laine jumped out to 21 goals. That total included 18 in the month of November, which also featured three hat-tricks, one five-goal performance and 11 goals over a four-game span. More impressively, only seven of those 18 tallies came on the man advantage.
Patrik Laine is only 20 years old.
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 25, 2018
He had FIVE goals tonight, the first NHL player to do so since 2011 🖐
(via @NHL) pic.twitter.com/1gIT9kSPs7
After that strong start to the year, though, Laine's play saw a major decline come December. He went without a goal for the first six games of the month and endured inconsistency in his goal-scoring, rarely showing flashes of the prowess he had made routine early on.
For the remainder of the regular season, he recorded just nine goals and ultimately finished with 30 goals and 50 points, a 14-goal and 20-point decline from his 2017-18 campaign.
It wasn't until the playoffs' first round, when the Jets squared off against the eventual Cup-champion St. Louis Blues, that the Finn seemed to be back on track. He went on a three-game point streak to kick off the first-round series, managing three goals and four points. Ultimately though, he came up dry in the final three games of the series, and Winnipeg ultimately saw an early exit after making it to the Western Conference championship just one year prior.
So, what was behind Laine's woes?
Some attributed his lackluster showing to his Fortnite gaming; some fans took the time to observe his account and speculated about a possible correlation, which included one Reddit user supposedly seeing that Laine's 11 goals in four games came after he took a break from the popular video game on Nov. 18. It could have also been as simple as an off-year and a scoring slump. However, it was later revealed that he played most of the season with a back injury, one that was recurring over the course of the season and perhaps played a part in his struggles.
Laine insisted to NHL.com that he was still able to play — and play well — and that the injury was "no excuse" for his struggles.
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All speculation and reasoning put aside, is there cause for concern heading into next season?
To give a short and reassuring answer: No.
It's easy to jump to dramatics, especially in regards to a player of Laine's caliber and a rather noticeable, alarming fall in performance. But ultimately, that's precisely the reason that there's no reason to worry; he's more than ready for a comeback.
The 6-5, 206-pound forward is able to use his size and speed to his advantage, which has helped him develop — and continue to develop — into a pure, elite goal-scorer. He gets to the right areas and is equipped with a lethal shot that can help him find the back of the net by any means possible. He's still young and still has a lot of time to evolve and find his game.
With a long offseason to recover and a new deal acting as an incentive (whether that'll look more like a long-term deal or a bridge deal remains to be seen), expect him to get his game back up to speed rather quickly.