Patrik Laine refused to be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, per insider

Don Waddell, general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, never hid his intentions to trade Laine, per the player's request. In fact, he may have been working even harder than we thought.

Indeed, a deal was in place with the Philadephia Flyers, but the Finnish forward refused to waive his no-trade clause, according to the Montreal Canadiens insider Max Truman.

Coming off an 18-game season with the Blue Jackets, Laine wants to bounce back, and he needs to feel good in his environment to do so.

In Philadelphia, something could've come in the way of his happiness: his former head coac John Tortorella.

Tortorella and Laine worked together for half a season, right after the Winnipeg Jets traded the player to Columbus for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

In 46 games under Torts, he scored 21 points, with only 10 goals. His performances were clearly affected by the coach. The next season, after Tortorella was replaced by Brad Larsen, he scored 56 points in 56 games, showing that coaching style can make a big difference in the way players perform.

Source for Patrik Laine's statistics: NHL.com