Paul Maurice has an interesting sense of humor, particularly when it comes to the status of his rookie superstar, Patrik Laine.

“Pat's been sent down to the minors today,” the Winnipeg Jets head coach joked to reporters Wednesday, according to Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun. “He's been returned to the Moose.”

Laine won't be demoted, but he struggled in Tuesday's loss to the Minnesota Wild, making a costly giveaway that led to a Wild goal and watching as Minnesota scored another while he was on the ice.

Maurice demoted the 18-year-old to the fourth line after his first-period woes, but the coach insisted Wednesday that the move shouldn't be blown out of proportion.

“He had a rougher night. That's going to happen,” Maurice said. “I love the guy. I also know what he's going to mean to this franchise. If I shaved three minutes off his game, I apologize to Manitoba.”

Laine understands why he was banished to the bottom six.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “I wasn't playing my best. So it was a good decision from him. I've been sitting on the bench before. It's not new to me. That kind of stuff happens."

Laine ranks second among rookies with 23 goals to Auston Matthews' 25 markers. He also sits third in the rookie class, narrowly behind Mitch Marner and Matthews with 43 points despite playing four fewer contests than both of them due to a concussion he suffered earlier in the season.

More importantly for Jets fans' collective sanity, Laine's logging more average ice time than every rookie forward not named Mikko Rantanen, even taking into account the 12:58 he played Tuesday night.

That was his lowest ice time of the season, and judging by Maurice's sarcastic remarks, it's clearly an anomaly that isn't likely to continue.

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