Rumours suggest Patrik Laine's future in Columbus is very much up in the air.
- Columbus may have a decision to make at this year's NHL trade deadline when it comes to Patrik Laine.
- Having a stellar bounceback year after floundering through much of last season, Laine is likely due for a decent raise. And rumblings suggest he may elect to take his qualifying offer of $7.5m for one year and walk to free agency in 2023. That is, unless the Blue Jackets pony up.
- Laine is no stranger to the rumour mill - he was on the trade block in Winnipeg all the way back in 2019 - and rumblings suggest the Blue Jackets thought about flipping him at last year's deadline.
- Reports suggest the brass in Columbus is unsure of whether they want to commit big term and dollars to the scoring winger, or if their money could be better spent elsewhere. It would be stunning to see Columbus let their star forward walk so soon after they acquired him for Pierre-Luc Dubois in their (reluctant) blockbuster trade with Winnipeg.
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- Laine is no stranger to the rumour mill - he was on the trade block in Winnipeg all the way back in 2019 - and rumblings suggest the Blue Jackets thought about flipping him at last year's deadline.
- Reports suggest the brass in Columbus is unsure of whether they want to commit big term and dollars to the scoring winger, or if their money could be better spent elsewhere. It would be stunning to see Columbus let their star forward walk so soon after they acquired him for Pierre-Luc Dubois in their (reluctant) blockbuster trade with Winnipeg.
- It doesn't sound like there's anything on the frontburner here, but Laine is a name to keep an eye on as we creep closer to the trade deadline. And of course, this could be a deal that waits for the offseason. Any team trying to acquire a monster contract like Laine's would have more manoeuvrability in June than now.
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