5 Potential Trades for Patrik Laine

 

With the release of TSN’s Frank Servalli’s Trade Bait Board, we saw Patrik Laine at number 5. This means that Seravalli thinks that it's very likely that he is moved as we saw him higher than some big names in Max Domi (Montreal Canadiens), Shayne Gostisbehere (Philadelphia Flyers), and Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights). So with that being said let's look at five potential trades that the Jets could take to move forward without Laine.

#1 Montreal Canadiens

Patrik Laine is that big scoring player that the Canadiens have been looking for a while ever since the loss of Max Pacioretty. When you trade for a guy with the pedigree of Patrik Laine you need to give up a lot of assets because he is considered a superstar and the Jets would hate to move on from him. For the Jets to accept any deal it would be an offer that would have to fill their current holes which are their second-line center and one or two top-four defensemen. For the offer that would most make sense would be Max Domi, Victor Mete, and a 2020 2nd Round Pick in Exchange for Patrik Laine. This trade makes sense for both teams because it saves Marc Bergevin a lot of stress (and money) by not having to re-sign Max Domi and Victor Mete. Victor Mete would have just been an outcast on that defence core with the uprisings of Ben Chariot, Brett Kulak, and Jeff Petry there is no real need to keep Mete around cause it could most likely cost a lot of money to keep him in Montreal. This also works for the Jets because Mete would be that perfect second pairing left-handed defenseman behind Josh Morrissey. 

#2 Carolina Hurricanes 

The Carolina Hurricanes would love to pair Laine with arguably another one of the best Finnish players in the NHL in Sebastian Aho. Aho with Laine would be one of the best duos in the NHL and these players are still 22 and 23 not to mention you could also add either Teravainen who would make a Finnish trio or young star Andrei Svechnikov. If you would throw Laine on the left side and then Aho down the middle and Svech on the right side you are guaranteed to light up the league. For the potential trade, there are two possibilities that the Jets would say yes to. First up, second-line center Trocheck, top 4 defenseman Brett Pesce and a 2020 or 2021 first-rounder for Patrik Laine. This trade would help fill both of the jet's current needs and also help broaden the prospect pool. The other potential trade is top-pairing defenseman Jaccob Slavin and the Carolina Hurricanes' 13th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. This trade gives the jets a chance at a guy like Jack Quinn who could be a great goal scorer and gives them a top-notch defenseman. 

#3 New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils could undoubtedly use some goal-scoring help on their team and Laine is the perfect guy for them. Laine would be a perfect match with Jack Hughes and maybe would be able to help him have a much better sophomore season than this year’s rookie season.  Hughes put up 7 goals and 14 assists which is horrendous for a #1 Draft Pick. For a player like Laine, the Devils would have to be willing to part with Nico Hischier, who, would be a more than adequate second-line center or could even play some first-line minutes when Paul Maurice feels like he needs to shake some things up. Hischier’s contract is only $500K more AAV than Patrik Laine’s current contract. Which would mean Winnipeg could pursue a defenseman via either Free Agency or the Draft. 

#4 San Jose Sharks

Patrik Laine to the Sharks is a bit of a stretch but so are most of these trades, The Sharks would love to pair Laine with Kane and Couture. The Sharks have a couple of assets that the Jets would be interested in such as Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Timo Meier, and Dylan Gambrell. The most likely trade would consist of Laine for Meier, Gambrell, and a 2nd or two 2nd Rounders. Although such a trade fails to address Winnipeg’s lacking defence.

#5 Minnesota Wild

 

Although it is very unlikely that the Winnipeg Jets trade with a division rival a trade between these two make perfect sense cause the Jets could fix their D-Core and add another draft pick or young winger. There have been some Matt Dumba trade rumours but he’s heading into the final year of his contract and negotiations with a player aren’t something you want to do with a player of that calibre, also Dumba will be a UFA whereas Laine is an RFA. So the wild are guaranteed to get something if they lose him where the Jets could come up with nothing. So a trade for Brodin makes a lot more sense than Dumba so we could see a package of Pittsburgh's 2021 first-round pick which could end being a solid mid-round pick and if the wild would throw in either Jordan Greenway or Ryan Donato that would be a great deal for the Jets and the Wild. 

~ Brody Neufeld, BTH