Craig Button: “The Blue Jackets have never been anything more than a scheduled game”

In recent days, there’s been a lot of talk about the Blue Jackets. The Patrik Laine deal didn’t hurt, as the Finn seemed happy to leave Columbus.

The reason for this is unclear… although we seem to understand that something happened in the dressing room.

That said, since the deal was made, there have been doubts about Laine’s personality and whether he’ll be a good fit in the Habs’ dressing room.

And that’s what really pisses off Craig Button. The TSN expert, who appeared on Tony Marinaro’s Sick Podcast this week, defended the Finn by taking a swipe at the Blue Jackets… and he didn’t mince his words:

The Blue Jackets have never been anything more than a scheduled game. – Craig Button

In practical terms, what this means is that, in Button’s eyes, the Blue Jackets are useless. They’ve never been a particularly formidable team, and they’re mostly there to fill out the schedule, according to the expert.

That’s pretty harsh… but he’s not entirely wrong. Aside from the series against the Lightning in 2019 and Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets don’t exactly have a rich history.

And that, for Button, is the main reason why Laine asked for a trade. He felt the club was going nowhere in Columbus, and instead of staying with an organization that ‘s just one game away, he preferred to leave.

We know he thrives on pressure, and in Columbus, that’s not exactly where the pressure is, especially since the club doesn’t often play in the playoffs.

One wonders whether the arrival of Don Waddell will eventually turn things around for the Blue Jackets, but clearly, the situation in Columbus was one that Laine no longer appreciated.

And when you hear an expert from TSN, an NHL partner, say such things, you’d think that players who are caught up in it probably feel the same way.