On yesterday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed the news that Patrik Laine has requested a trade out of Columbus and whether or not the Canucks should look to acquire him.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN reported on Wednesday, June 13, that Columbus is willing to engage in trade considerations for the disgruntled Finn.
“My understanding is that the Columbus Blue Jackets intend to work with Patrik Laine’s camp, led by agent Andy Scott of Octagon, to find the star winger a fresh start with a new team,” LeBrun wrote.
Laine played in just 56 games in ’21-22, 55 games in ’22-23, and 18 in ’23-24 after Columbus acquired him in a trade from Winnipeg along with Jack Roslovic in return for Pierre Luc Dubois. Though each of his three seasons with the team had been cut short and he didn’t play much at all in ’23-24, he scored at an 80-point-per-game pace the previous two seasons with the Blue Jackets.
“Laine has been a part-time player the last three seasons, he’s got a near nine-million-dollar cap hit, and on top of that, I have reservations that he’s a bit too one-dimensional,” Harm cautioned. “We know how talented he is as a sniper, but he’s not very quick, he’s not going to be effective on the forecheck, and historically he’s been poor defensively. I wonder if he can actually fit with Rick Tocchet. When we discuss the Canucks’ need for additional offensive creativity, it feels like they don’t have enough dynamic play drivers. Look at a player like Brock Boeser: terrific goal scorer, but he’s more of just a finisher; he’s not someone carrying the puck up the ice through the neutral zone himself, he’s not drawing defenders and creating space for others, he’s not taking a lot of burden off J.T. Miller from a play-driving perspective. When I think about the ideal winger for Elias Pettersson, for example, I want someone who can help in multiple areas besides just goal scoring. A guy like Jake Guentzel: he’s great along the boards, effective on the forecheck, helps on puck recoveries, smart defensively, and he makes a lot of little plays because of his hockey IQ that help to align and control play. Or even a Martin Necas; he has the speed and dynamic flair where it takes pressure off a guy like Pettersson. Laine is an unbelievable sniper, but he’s a passenger.”
“How much of a distressed asset is he? The thing with Laine is the low acquisition cost is probably the most intriguing thing about this,” said Quads. “In terms of assets, Jake Guentzel is going to cost basically the same thing to go out and get. No one has watched him play recently since he hasn’t been playing, the availability is obviously a concern, but I immediately started to worry about if he’d be a fit with Rick Tocchet. I don’t want them to go out and get Laine, but if the acquisition cost is low enough, you have to do your homework and try to pull the trigger.”
“He’s far from plan A, but if guys start flying off the board and you’re running out of options, then Laine could be a fallback option to consider,” Harm noted. “Laine has improved in becoming more well-rounded, he’s doing a better job of driving chances on his own, so that’s a little intriguing, but there’s a ton of risk that would come in taking a swing for him.”
You can watch the full segment below:
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