Screen Shots: Patrik Laine Update, Martin St-Louis on Steven Stamkos, and Leafs Goaltending

Welcome back to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which we tackle a few hockey topics and break them down in a few brief paragraphs. Regular readers know the routine, so let’s get right to it:

It’s good to see reports from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and The Athletic's Aaron Portzline that Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine was cleared from the NHL and NHLPA Player Assistance Program. 

The veteran entered the program in January, but before that, the 26-year-old Finn had posted six goals in 18 games, putting him on pace for at least 25 goals for the fifth time in his eight NHL seasons.

Reports indicate that Laine, who had asked for a trade earlier this year, can now talk to teams interested in acquiring his services. 

Laine’s current contract – which carries an average annual salary cap hit of $8.7 million and runs for the next two seasons – is a hurdle many cap-strapped teams won’t be able to clear. His contract also contains a clause allowing him to veto being traded to 10 of the NHL’s other 31 teams. But that still leaves plenty of suitors for him, and knowing that he’s in the right condition and mindset to resume his playing career will more than likely speed the trade process.

A trade for Laine would mean he’s on his third NHL team. While that might raise some red flags for some GMs, Laine’s reputation as a deft scorer guarantees a team will be able to rationalize trading for him. 

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell is on record saying he only wants players in Columbus who want to be in Columbus, so that tells this writer that the Jackets aren’t going to wait until the season begins to find a taker for Laine. It’s best for the team and the player to part ways sooner than later, so don’t be surprised when Laine is wearing a different franchise’s uniform by the time training camp begins in the fall.

Montreal Canadiens coach and longtime NHL star Martin St-Louis spoke to NHL.com this week about former Tampa By Lightning star Steven Stamkos' departure to the Nashville Predators. Like Stamkos, St-Louis was a beloved member of the Lightning and a Stanley Cup winner before he went to the Blueshirts to finish his NHL career. And St-Louis believes a change of scenery will be good for Stamkos.

“It's hard to leave, but I don't think it's a bad thing for (Stamkos) to go and experience something else,” St-Louis told reporters. “It'd be nice to stay in the same place for that long, which he was fortunate to do. What was he, 16 years there? That's a long time. I think he's going to look back on his career, and I think he's going to be happy that he experienced something else, and he's going to a really good situation."

St-Louis is right – Stamkos was fortunate to play a dozen-and-a-half years in one city. Very few NHLers play that long, let alone for just one team. 

Moreover, anyone who’s played in Nashville raves about the experience. And given that this year’s Predators team promises to be one of the better teams in the Central Division, Stamkos’ stint with the Preds should be a thrill for both himself and Nashville’s fans.

Finally, as the regular season draws nearer, one of the storylines to watch will be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ new goaltending duo of returning youngster Joseph Woll and UFA signing Anthony Stolarz. 

As Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has noted, the team has a lot of faith in 26-year-old Woll, so we expect the season will begin with him getting the first opportunity to impress the organization. Stolarz could then get the second game of back-to-back contests.

From there, if Stolarz performs to expectations, we’d imagine a 50/50 split for the tandem will provide the ideal balance in net. 

Neither Woll nor Stolarz has had workhorse numbers in hockey’s top league – Woll’s 25 appearances in 2023-24 is his career NHL high, while Stolarz’s career-best 28 performances came in 2021-22 with Anaheim. That means both netminders are likely to set new marks in appearances this coming season. 

The Maple Leafs won’t complain if one or the other grabs the bull by the horns and establishes himself as the starter, but ideally, both Stolarz and Woll will carry an equal workload and combine to give Toronto a solid chance to win night in and night out.

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