Which NHL teams could be an ideal change of scenery for Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine? Patrik Laine [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA3MTI5NzIyMjk4MDQ5NzIz/usatsi_21633637_168400847_lowres.jpg] Patrik Laine Patrik Laine's time with the Columbus Blue Jackets could be coming to an end. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5559868/2024/06/12/nhl-trade-rumblings-laine-necas-ehlers/?source=emp_shared_article], the Blue Jackets and Laine’s camp will work together to find a new home [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/latest-news/report-patrik-laine-wants-a-fresh-start-away-from-columbus] for the Finnish winger. Long renowned as one of the NHL’s best pure snipers, the 26-year-old is coming off a rollercoaster four seasons with Columbus, most recently entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program in January. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/blue-jackets-patrik-laine-enters-nhl-nhlpa-assistance-program] After combining for 80 goals in his first two seasons — second to only Alex Ovechkin in that span — Laine has hit the 30-goal plateau just once. But there’s no denying that the talent’s still there. Shooters like him don’t grow on trees. And when you factor in goals per game, there wasn’t a drastic drop-off in Columbus from his Winnipeg days, with 0.37 goals per game with the Blue Jackets and 0.46 with the Jets. Granted, offloading Laine’s contract, which carries a $8.7-million cap hit for the next two seasons, won’t be easy. Columbus will likely have to retain some of that dollar figure should they wish to receive an asset in return. Where may Laine land? There's already discussion about whether the Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-should-look-to-reunite-patrik-laine-with-john-tortorella], Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/will-the-rangers-pursue-a-trade-for-patrik-laine] and Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/what-a-patrik-laine-trade-to-the-ducks-could-look-like] could be fits. But these five teams could make the most sense. UTAH What better way for Utah to make a splash than acquiring an extremely marketable talent? While Utah is inheriting many valuable young NHL forwards from the Arizona Coyotes, it doesn’t possess many young, high-end finishers aside from Dylan Guenther. After years of taking on dead money to get to the cap floor, GM Bill Amstrong has the green light to build not only a competitive roster but an exciting product. When he’s on his game – Laine is a surefire game-changer. Stylistically, the possibilities are endless. Utah has lots of high-end distributors to feed Laine, including Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Matias Maccelli and Logan Cooley. And there’s no doubt he’d become the focal point of Utah’s power play, which is just one sharpshooter away from moving up from the middle of the pack. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS Imagine a power-play unit featuring Patrik Laine and Connor Bedard as shooting threats. GM Kyle Davidson has made it known that he doesn’t want Chicago bottoming out [https://x.com/croumeliotis/status/1781753423190200576?s=46&t=7qH1pL2mVPXN9S0gZaRqiw]yet again, although he’s not willing to muffle his team's long-term salary cap outlook with high-priced deals. Enter Laine, whose deal expires right when Connor Bedard will need a new and hefty contract. The Blackhawks could comfortably absorb Laine’s cap hit while also allowing him to re-discover his game in a low-stakes environment. If all goes well and Laine asserts himself as a 35-goal scorer — Chicago could flip him for a haul at the 2026 deadline if they aren’t competing by then. Laine could also serve as a valuable mentor for Bedard — as he did for Adam Fantilli this past year — as few players in the league can resonate with Bedard regarding being a teenage phenom. CAROLINA HURRICANES The Hurricanes are all about value. They hold firm on numbers they deem players to be worth while also welcoming the chance to acquire overpaid players for pennies on the dollar, like their recent deadline acquisition of Evgeny Kuznetsov. If Columbus retains between 20 percent and 30 percent of the deal (between $1.7 million and $2.61 million), acquiring Laine could provide the Hurricanes with what they sought in acquiring Jake Guentzel at the deadline: a high-end scorer. Should Guentzel decide to sign elsewhere, Laine could replace Guentzel on the left side of Carolina’s power play, which was the second-best in the NHL last year. WASHINGTON CAPITALS Who better for Laine to learn from than Alex Ovechkin? Laine’s game draws parallels to Ovechkin, who was also criticized for his lack of all-around game earlier in his career. Ovechkin eventually became more engaged in areas aside from just scoring, dispelling the narrative that he was “lazy” and solidifying his prowess with a Stanley Cup victory in 2018. With $16.185 million in cap space and few roster holes to fill, Washington can take on Laine’s deal without retention. Should they prefer to acquire him at a reduced rate, though, they also have a plethora of draft capital to play with — including four second-round picks and five third-round picks over the next two drafts. MONTREAL CANADIENS From a pure hockey standpoint, Montreal would be the perfect landing spot for Laine. Laine is around the same age as the Habs’ young core of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach. With Montreal reportedly [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/habs-notebook-hughes-reportedly-has-aggressive-plan] seeking players on short-term deals this summer, Laine fits their timeline. A pairing of Suzuki, a premier passer whose 200-foot game is among the best in the NHL, and Laine could do some serious damage. Granted, this isn’t a video game. External factors always come into play when making this kind of move, and one ought to think Montreal could be hesitant about bringing Laine to a hockey hotbed where there’s so much media attention and fan scrutiny. Which team do you think should acquire Laine? Join the conversation below or at our forum [https://thehockeynews.roundtable.io/THNHOME/posts].
