Insider reveals the real reason why Laine was benched by Tortorella!

All eyes were on the Columbus Blue Jackets last night when Patrik Laine was benched for the third period of Monday’s 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes after skating 11:14 in the first two frames.  Head coach John Torteralla didn’t explain why he sat his star player after the game. 

“That’s gonna stay in house,” Tortorella told reporters, per Sportsnet. “It wasn’t because of the missed assignment. There’s a number of things that come into play with that. That will stay in the locker room.”

Of course, Torts was once again under fire for his controversial coaching tactics, however on Tuesday night, we find out the bench boss might have had a good reason to bench the star player. 

According to a source who spoke to the Columbus Dispatch, Laine was not benched for his play : he reportedly mouthed off to an assistant coach. 

“An NHL source said Laine “mouthed off” to one of the Blue Jackets’ assistant coaches, and another source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that account. It’s unknown what Laine said, or whom he said it to, but whatever it was prompted head coach John Tortorella to keep the team’s newly acquired star stuck to the bench in a 2-2 game.”

Team general manager Jarmo Kekalainen reportedly wants the issue to remain in house, therefore he was unreachable by the Dispatch for comments. 

Tortorella took a lot of heat on social media since benching Laine, however this disrespectful interaction with the Jackets’ assistant coach, which reportedly happened off the ice, puts a new spin on the situation.

“It’s what I feel I need to do,” Tortorella said, continuing his explanation after the game. “The last thing I want to do is bench a player. But … we’re just disjointed in all areas – quite honestly, on and off the ice. It’s an easy thing to bench a player. Honestly, that’s the last thing I want to do, but if I think I need to do it, then I need to do it.” 

Do you get now why he did it?