Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine apparently wasn't joking when he said in May there was a good chance he'd "look terrible" if the NHL returned this summer.
With games quickly approaching, the Finnish winger admits he's not quite up to speed following the league's four-month layoff.
"Still kind of far away," Laine told reporters about the current state of his game Wednesday, according to NHL.com. "It's kind of hard to see myself playing playoff hockey in two weeks.
"But just trying to make the most out of it and trying to be as well-prepared as I and as we can ... just try to work hard these next couple of weeks so we'll be ready when the puck drops."
Training camps began July 13 and the Jets are slated to take on the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of their best-of-five play-in series Aug. 1.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice isn't as worried about his young winger's current status, and said he anticipated his players showing some rust upon returning to the ice.
"He looks good, like he's shooting the puck right and he's running his routes," Maurice said of Laine. "Today we had a pretty darn good pace and we got some battling in today and, yeah, he looks right on.
"But I guess, I don't think anybody looks the way they're going to in about two weeks, we all expect that right?"
Laine bounced back from a setback year in 2018-19 with 28 goals and a career-best 35 assists through 68 games this season.
