There’s a good chance Finnish sniper Patrik Laine will be traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason per published reports. Depending on how much cap hit/salary the Blue Jackets are willing to retain in a deal and how many teams are interested in taking a risk, there may be many potential landing spots or a select few.
For a team like the Chicago Blackhawks, it is less of a risk considering how much cap space the team has and where the team is in its rebuilding process. The Blackhawks are looking to improve and surround Connor Bedard with better talent. But Chicago finished 31st in the league last season and isn’t ready to make a big jump in the standings or into the playoffs quite yet in 2024-25.
With a few solid moves, the Blackhawks could really surprise, but maybe not for another year or more. Not only is it important to have the right pieces around a franchise player like Bedard when the team is ready to compete, it is still important beforehand too. That’s the stage the Blackhawks are at right now.
Regardless, general manager Kyle Davidson said his team must be better next season. See video.
Laine has two seasons left on his four-year deal at $8.7 million AAV. I would think that in any trade, even to the Blackhawks who have $33 million in cap space, there would be retained salary. For a riskier player who’s dealt with injuries and had a tough partial season in 2023-24, the term is exactly what Chicago could be looking for.
Laine Still Has It
Nicknamed “The Finnisher,” Laine can be a dynamic player, but his health has been an obvious issue. The 6-foot-5 forward hasn’t played more than 56 games since 2019-20, but was very healthy for the first four years of his career when he scored 138 goals in 305 games. He is a three-time 30-goal scorer and six-time 20-goal scorer. Every season where he’s skated in over 70 games he’s scored 30 or more goals.
Laine posted just six goals and nine points in 18 games last season. He suffered a broken left clavicle, then entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in late January, citing mental health issues.
Laine scored 48 goals and 108 points in 111 games the two prior seasons combined. Unfortunately those seasons were cut to just 56 and 52 games for him by injuries and a bout with COVID-19. But he’s dangerous offensively when healthy.
Clearly a new team is what Laine needs and he will have somewhat of a say with his 10-team no-trade clause. The Blue Jackets don’t have to send Laine to a team that he’s going to finish his career on. If the Blackhawks acquire him, that would be the case.
Chicago will have a number of contracts to deal with and its cap space will dwindle quickly with the likes of Bedard needing a long-term deal when his entry-level deal runs out after 2025-26 season.
Two years gives the Blackhawks’ prospects time to develop and gain experience in the NHL before being required to take larger roles on the team. Laine is perfectly capable of coming in as a top-6 player right now and scoring goals.
Laine’s defensive play is not his strength, but Bedard might prosper with a winger like Laine scoring goals on his line and on the power play. If Laine didn’t skate with Bedard, that would prevent opponents from keying in on Bedard’s line alone as they often did last season.
After Laine’s 2023-24 season and his trade request, the cost to acquire him probably is down. The Blackhawks have so many draft picks over the next three years, and some could be used in a deal.
Laine isn’t the Blackhawks’ top trade target this summer, but he isn’t a bad one either. There is an argument to seriously look at him or to stay away. How everything plays out will be determined by what the Blackhawks can do with some of the other top tier forwards in free agency or on the trade market in the next two weeks.
