By Luke Sims -
The Minnesota Wild were rumored to be in on Finnish sniper Patrik Laine. They had been targeting him since the start of the offseason, and the Columbus Blue Jackets were actively trying to trade him away.
Columbus ultimately moved Laine and a third-round pick for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris, a solid young defender but hardly surplus value for the Blue Jackets.
Columbus’ mediocre return for the former second-round pick shocked many Wild fans who hoped to land the goal-scorer. However, the Blue Jackets lost leverage with Laine because opposing teams knew Laine didn’t want to play in Columbus. Laine was in the player assistance program, coming off an inconsistent season where he was hurt. Laine was seeking a “Fresh start” after three seasons in Columbus with the Jackets.
The Blue Jackets were willing to retain salary on Laine’s deal but preferred not to retain any salary on Laine’s deal. By sending him to Montreal without retaining his salary, Columbus has over $11 million in cap space after moving Laine.
While the result is disappointing for Wild fans because of how involved the team seemed to be in trading for Laine, it makes sense why he went to Montreal for that price. It would have been tough for the Wild to take a swing with their lack of cap space, but it would have been worth it.
Laine would have raised Minnesota’s ceiling because of its legitimate offensive firepower in the top six. Laine would have given the Wild a third elite goal scorer to complement Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. Having three guys in the top six who are bona fide threats to score goals anytime they are on the ice together is a huge advantage.
The Finnish sniper is also a right-handed shooter, who would make the Wild's power play much more versatile and deadly. Laine has elite one-timer shot potential, and his monster slapshot can make him a massive threat on that side of the ice.
With Laine’s shot, he makes the other players in the Wild’s top-six better. Mats Zuccarello and Marco Rossi are great passers who would bring out the best in a shot, happy maniac like Laine.
Laine also fits the Wild’s timeline. Laine is only 26 and would fit with Kirill Kaprizov (27), Joel Eriksson Ek (27), and Ryan Hartman (29). Minnesota could have made Laine part of their foundation had they traded for him.
At 6’5”, 215 lbs., Laine is a big forward with a big stick and shot. Laine is not known for throwing his weight around. Still, he’s difficult to deal with in the corners and in front of the net. He’d make such a sick line with Boldy and Eriksson Ek.
Unfortunately for the Wild, Laine costs a ton of money. Laine is now Montreal’s highest-paid player at $8.7 million per year for the next two years. On the Hockey Wilderness Podcast, Wilderness Talk, Justin Wiggins, Justin Hein, and I would have been thrilled if the Wild had acquired Laine. However, we recognize that it would have been tough to pull off.
The Wild are getting almost $14 million of cap salary cap relief from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts. The team would have to clear nearly $7 million of cap space to get Laine to fit under their salary cap without the Blue Jackets retaining any salary. Even with Filip Gustavsson and Freddy Gaudreau off the books, Minnesota would still need the Jackets to retain a little bit of money, but that’s much more reasonable than the $4.5 million they’d have to eat if the Wild had not opened up more room.
There’s also a legitimate injury concern for Laine. He hasn’t played 70 games in a season since 2018-19. While Laine has been productive when he’s been out there, he barely played 60 games in the last two seasons.
Laine also doesn’t play defense. He’s not engaged on the defensive end of the ice, but what he’s provided offensively has often made up for it. Still, his struggles in his own zone have led to confrontational interactions with coaches who have disliked his effort in the defensive zone.
There are plenty of pros and cons to adding Laine. On one side, the Wild would get another legit goal scorer who will better set up the rest of the lineup to succeed while improving the powerplay and fitting in with the team's core. However, Laine is an inconsistent, injury-prone, and expensive winger.
Still, the pros of adding Laine outweigh the cons. If the Wild wanted to go for it with a big swing, Laine has a solid chance of being a homerun. Minnesota would have had to get creative to make the deal's finances work, but it would have been worth it.
Maybe the Wild had a deal to get Laine, and the Blue Jackets sent him to Montreal because the Canadiens had a better offer. Maybe Bill Guerin was looking to hit a home run.
Perhaps the Wild took a swing, but this just wasn't their pitch to hit.
All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, and CapWages unless otherwise noted.
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