[1] The Finn signed with Färjestad BK (FBK) of the Elitserien in 1984 and was the leading goal scorer in the top Swedish league for the 1984–85 season.

Laine ranked second in the Elitserien in 1986–87 for goals scored, beaten only by Lars-Gunnar Pettersson in the regular season and Ulf Dahlén in the playoffs, both members the 1987 Le Mat winner, IF Björklöven.

[1] In Sweden, he played 277 games in the Elitserien, producing 275 points, and his 192 career goals rank 19th all-time in the league and second for a Finn.

Laine's international debut came with the Finnish national under-19 team at the IIHF European Junior Championship in 1976, where Finland won bronze.

The Finns were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the group stage and then lost the fifth place game against West Germany, ranking sixth at the conclusion of the tournament.

Laine returned to the Finnish roster for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, playing in seven games and contributing six points (4+2) to Finland's silver medal-winning performance.

He rose to national prominence after scoring two goals in a minute and 51 seconds against Canada, laying the groundwork for an eventual 3–1 victory over the team which was stocked with NHL talent.

Laine went missing on the evening of 22 August 2009, after taking his boat out on Asikkalanselkä, the southernmost part of Lake Päijänne, near the family's summer cottage in Kalkkinen, a village in the Asikkala municipality.

Concerns that he may have drowned were given further credence when a significant portion of his boat and debris from an apparent high-speed collision with a rocky islet were found on 24 August.

The first “hockey statue” in Finland, it was unveiled by Minister of Sports and Culture Sampo Terho and Leijonat assistant coach Kari Eloranta in a ceremony held on 28 November 2017, prior to the Pelicans–HPK game.

[9] The ceremony was attended by several hundred people former teammates of Laine's, including Veli-Pekka Ketola and Hannu Koskinen, as well as his wife, daughters, and father, Jukka.

[10] During warmups prior to the Liiga match that evening, the Pelicans players donned Laine #13 sweaters in honour of the late winger.

[11] Estonian artist Bruno Kadak's design was inspired by hockey player statues erected at ice rinks around the world, particularly those in Toronto.

[15] In 2004, he and civil engineer Mika Wilenius purchased Salpausselän Rakentajat (SSR Group), a nation-wide construction firm, from the heir of the previous owner.