Article: An Old Wild Killer Has Become A Minnesota Target

[Justin Wiggins]

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[TCMooch]

This would be an interesting pickup I would be interested in getting. 
 

if we have a package of assets for the BJs that could help them win then that would be cool. Laine has issues but if he didn’t then he wouldn’t be available. I’d pick up the phone and see what Columbus wants just for shits and giggles.

[OldDutchChip]

thank you for saying this "Continuing to draft players who won’t impact the team for a handful of years does not help their case in convincing Kaprizov to sign a long-term deal next summer."

so next let's talk about how you'd rate Laine as a target in terms of how he impacts the above? does it help convince Kap? does it hurt? does it do neither?

my thought is that it likely hurts us. given the term and money, given who he is as a player on and off the ice (not really a stellar teammate from what i recall) and is often hurt; not to even say that his game may or may not be good mix for us. is he fast? was he fast? is he still fast post all the infinite amount of injuries?  while the game is getting faster - why would a move for an often injured winger, who may lost a step and often cited as bad locker room presence and too large of an ego a good fit for Wild and a good one to convince Kap to stay (especially if the contract ties up any other potential moves and has him leaving the same time as Kap)?

I will say my interest level is 1/10 on this one. 

 

 

[Will D. Ness]

Hard pass.

[Mateo3xm]

If we could get him for a decent contract I think he could be a great addition. The guy has one of the best shots in all of the NHL. He just needs a good player to feed him the puck.

[Dean]

I agree with old Dutch. . He’s a guy kappy would have to carry the water for. He wouldn’t help the team only bring more drama. He’s the type we’re trying to rid ourselves of imo . Kappy needs someone who can play hockey and help this team now! 

[Mateo3xm]

1 hour ago, OldDutchChip said:

thank you for saying this "Continuing to draft players who won’t impact the team for a handful of years does not help their case in convincing Kaprizov to sign a long-term deal next summer."

so next let's talk about how you'd rate Laine as a target in terms of how he impacts the above? does it help convince Kap? does it hurt? does it do neither?

my thought is that it likely hurts us. given the term and money, given who he is as a player on and off the ice (not really a stellar teammate from what i recall) and is often hurt; not to even say that his game may or may not be good mix for us. is he fast? was he fast? is he still fast post all the infinite amount of injuries?  while the game is getting faster - why would a move for an often injured winger, who may lost a step and often cited as bad locker room presence and too large of an ego a good fit for Wild and a good one to convince Kap to stay (especially if the contract ties up any other potential moves and has him leaving the same time as Kap)?

I will say my interest level is 1/10 on this one. 

 

 

Where are you getting this information that he was a bad locker room guy? Do you research stuff or just comment half cocked? From what I understand the guys in Winnipeg were assholes. They bullied him. I know he wanted to play on the line with Schiefle and there was contention between him and Wheeler about it. The kid was scoring 40 some goals right out of the gate pretty much. What I got out of it was they didn’t make him feel very welcome on the team. There was actually a Finnish paper written about it. He’s going through the players assistance program at the moment and mental health was mentioned.

the Jackets were a terrible dumpster fire last year. If we could get this guy on a decent deal and he’s in a good state physically and mentally it could turn out extremely well for us. 

[wildtwins]

Given Laine's struggles with mental health, I think the Wild would be a good team for him to go to. Zucc/Rossi would be good players to pair with Laine considering they are playmakers and Laine is a sniper. A huge improvement over NoJo. 

If Eiserman is still available, I'd rather see the Wild take their chances with him instead of Laine. 

If he isn't, I would say no to any trade involving Rossi, Yurov, Heidt, Ohgren, or Haight. Columbus also wants to get rid of Merzlikins, so a third team could get involved to take Merzlikins and the Wild can ship Gus to Columbus. If Columbus isn't on Spurgeon's 10-team no-trade list, the Wild can include him as well to make room for Laine's contract. 

If they trade Rossi or Heidt, I'd rather it be for a player who doesn't have as many question marks as Laine. I'd give up a 1st in the 2025 draft, Walker, and one of their d-prospects in addition to getting rid of Spurgeon and possibly Gus. A Laine trade to MN doesn't happen without getting rid of Spurgeon.

 

[Burnt Toast]

Hard pass 2.0. 

[Citizen Strife]

*Sees his number of games played per season for nearly a decade*

No sir; I don't like it.

[OldDutchChip]

5 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Where are you getting this information that he was a bad locker room guy? Do you research stuff or just comment half cocked? From what I understand the guys in Winnipeg were assholes. They bullied him. I know he wanted to play on the line with Schiefle and there was contention between him and Wheeler about it. The kid was scoring 40 some goals right out of the gate pretty much. What I got out of it was they didn’t make him feel very welcome on the team. There was actually a Finnish paper written about it. He’s going through the players assistance program at the moment and mental health was mentioned.

the Jackets were a terrible dumpster fire last year. If we could get this guy on a decent deal and he’s in a good state physically and mentally it could turn out extremely well for us. 

Where are you getting this information that he was a bad locker room guy? Do you research stuff or just comment half cocked? laine called me and told me, good enough for you?

From what I understand the guys in Winnipeg were assholes. They bullied him. oh no, let's bring him up and cuddle him up!

The kid was scoring 40 some goals right out of the gate pretty much. yes we all heard he was the next ovechkin. is he?

What I got out of it was they didn’t make him feel very welcome on the team. There was actually a Finnish paper written about it. He’s going through the players assistance program at the moment and mental health was mentioned  what is this have to do with what the wild need right now? go take care of your stuff, good luck, but wild can move on and find player that actually makes sense! 

the Jackets were a terrible dumpster fire last year. If we could get this guy on a decent deal and he’s in a good state physically and mentally waaaaaait are you saying he is mentally and physically good? i thought he was in assistance program for mental help + physically he is not really a prime example of reliability - so how can he be in good state for both? 🤔

[Protec]

We have a lazy Swede in the top six who doesn't hustle, isn't physical, scores at a lousy rate, and needs to be replaced.

I know, trade for the most expensive Finn with mental problems who has been unhappy, one-faceted, zero-grit, dirty-turtleneck, and not durable over a handful of years with very little winning pedigree.

Keep Gus and the cap space please if this is the proposed solution. Let other teams get suckered into Laine PLDubois type AAVs for disgruntled-divas.

[B1GKappa97]

Tough call. He definitely fits our window, assuming Kap stays, but that's an expensive contract that'll require us to send pieces back. 

If the GM wants to trade Rossi for more size in his top-6, Laine does provide that though and has the potential to be about a PPG player. It probably could help us to keep our 1st round pick as well so we could potentially add another future top-6 forward. You could have a forward lineup in '24-'25 of;

Zuccy-Ek-Kap

Boldy-Hartman-Laine

Ohgren-Khusnut-Foligno

???-Freddy-???

And then when Yurov arrives, you kick Hartman down to the 3rd line to push Khusnut onto the 4th as Erik Haula 2.0.. if we were to trade off Rossi for an upgrade in the top-6 now and still be able to land a guy like Helenius at #13, that wouldn't be an awful turn of events for the short- and long-term outlook of the team. 

Edited June 17 by B1GKappa97

[Imyourhuckleberry]

19 hours ago, wildtwins said:

If Columbus isn't on Spurgeon's 10-team no-trade list, the Wild can include him as well to make room for Laine's contract. 

I don't hate the idea of adding Laine, but I imagine Columbus is on most NMC lists, which likely reduces their options.

[Willy the poor boy]

1 hour ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Tough call. He definitely fits our window, assuming Kap stays, but that's an expensive contract that'll require us to send pieces back. 

If the GM wants to trade Rossi for more size in his top-6, Laine does provide that though and has the potential to be about a PPG player. It probably could help us to keep our 1st round pick as well so we could potentially add another future top-6 forward. You could have a forward lineup in '24-'25 of;

Zuccy-Ek-Kap

Boldy-Hartman-Laine

Ohgren-Khusnut-Foligno

???-Freddy-???

And then when Yurov arrives, you kick Hartman down to the 3rd line to push Khusnut onto the 4th as Erik Haula 2.0.. if we were to trade off Rossi for an upgrade in the top-6 now and still be able to land a guy like Helenius at #13, that wouldn't be an awful turn of events for the short- and long-term outlook of the team. 

I'm not trading Rossi for a little size. I doubt Laine plays with Rossi's heart. I'll take the younger smaller Rossi.

[Patrick]

The only way this makes sense is if Columbus retains a big chunk. Otherwise it's too much salary for a guy that may not be on the ice much.

[FredJohnson]

Does Columbus need a goalie that's had one decent season?

Asking for a friend.

[mnfaninnc]

A lot of people don't like Laine. I've always been a fan. Would there be a way for CBJ to retain $ so we could fit him in? I think a deal could be made here, and I think Laine wouldn't mind coming back to the Western Conference to stick it to Winnipeg. 

I believe if anyone can fix Laine, the Wild can. It's a better atmosphere than Columbus. It still in a lower stress area than other big cities. And, his countryman, who he likely looked up to is in the front office. I believe Laine has much more to offer in his game, but he certainly fits the bill as the occupier of Ovechkin's office. This alone makes Kaprizov more effective on the PP, and probably adds to Ek's success too. 

Laine can fill the net. If you put a couple of 200' players on his line, he can really help with secondary scoring. I wouldn't break the bank in compensation for him, but, I could also see him wanting to come here. For a player of this caliber, I would think the compensation would be a pretty good value, and we've got 1 year left of needing pretty good value.

[RedLake]

Why would anyone sign in a low market high taxed state? Until something happens with the Libasota income tax not one professional sports team will win here.

[Up North Guy]

10 hours ago, RedLake said:

Why would anyone sign in a low market high taxed state? Until something happens with the Libasota income tax not one professional sports team will win here.

While I agree with you on the state of taxes here i am not so sure that it is a prohibitive factor in signing decisions. Remember that most states and provinces (I think) collect taxes on players who play games in their tax areas. California started that now common rule. Now states like Florida, Texas, Nevada, Tenn, have an advantage it is only a singular point in the decision process. NYC, NJ, Boston, Chicago are all high tax locations yet have no trouble  attracting players.