Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine and his former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, likely aren't on each other's gift list.

Former Blue Jackets forward says he needed to leave after 'things happened,' and says he tired of 'losing and just giving up when it's December.'

Laine will face his former club for the first time since his summer trade to the Canadiens Monday night in Columbus.

Finnish forward Patrik Laine has been a revelation for the Montreal Canadiens, scoring eight power-play goals since his return to action in early December; he’s already second overall in the NHL for goals scored with the man advantage.

Ahead of the matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets, former Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine, now a key piece of the Canadiens’ power play, didn’t shy away from addressing his trade request.

That is why, Laine said, he requested the trade that landed him in Montreal in August. Laine’s words made it down the hallway to the Blue Jackets’ dressing room and eventually up to the suite level, where the Blue Jackets’ front office is housed.

Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine had some critical words for his former teammates on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Laine opened up with Blue Jackets reporter Aaron Portzlline yesterday, expressing his reasons for wanting a trade out of Columbus: “I feel like we were just doing the same thing year after year,