After spending the last 6 months in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program Patrik Laine is cleared to return to action this coming season. With the 26 year-old looking for a fresh start elsewhere we explore the possibility of Laine coming to Carolina.
The dog days of August have arrived which means the news cycle across the NHL has long been dried up. With that also means next month come September, NHL training camps open. While teams finish re-signing any remaining RFA's and bring in some veterans on PTO's, most teams have a good idea what their rosters will look like come opening night in October. There is one high-end forward available however, that could be on the move soon resulting in some teams to change plans. That forward is Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Patrik Laine.
Laine is said to be looking for a change of scenery out of Columbus after a disastrous 2023-2024 season. Laine was limited to just 18 games last season due to a few injuries, most notably being a fractured clavicle in a game on December 14th against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While rehabbing from that injury, Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program causing him to miss the rest of the year.
Laine was cleared by doctors on July 26th, allowing him to be eligible to return this coming season. A week before being cleared, a video surface online of Laine training in Florida with a few NFL players, including WR Jerry Jeudy of the Cleveland Browns.
With Laine appearing in good physical shape and his off-ice struggles behind him there will likely be no shortage of teams interested in acquiring the former 40 goal scorer. The Carolina Hurricanes have been linked to Laine previously.
Former Hurricanes GM Don Waddell, now the GM in Columbus, made an interesting comment last week when speaking to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch in regards where things stand with Laine.
“At this time of the year, people are less responsive,” Waddell said, via the Columbus Dispatch. “So, I don’t really know. I think it’s going to play out for a while.”
While those comments appear to insinuate nothing percolating with Laine being moved soon, it could also be to get teams to present more serious offers.
If Waddell were to trade Laine to his former team it would certainly be a larger transaction. With Laine carrying a cap hit of $8.7M for two more seasons and the Hurricanes only having $6.4M of cap space available with still having to re-sign Seth Jarvis, the move would require the Hurricanes sending back a sizable contract to Columbus. Would Waddell have interest in bringing 24 year-old center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to Columbus in an hypothetical deal for Laine? Possibly. Back in August of 2021, Don Waddell used the rare offer-sheet on Kotkaniemi, then a member of the Montreal Canadiens. If Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky, who took over for Waddell, could get his former boss to retain a portion of Laine's contract while including Kotkaniemi and a prospect or draft pick, that could be a frame work of a deal.
Adding Laine to the Hurricanes roster would help negate the losses of Teuvo Teravainen and Jake Guentzel, who departed in free agency. Laine could slot in next to fellow Finn, Sebastian Aho on the top line. If head coach Rod Brind'Amour was so inclined he could also put Andrei Svechnikov on the right side on that top line giving the Hurricanes potentially one of the most lethal first lines in the NHL.
The Hurricanes despite the makeover to the roster in the off-season are still expected to be a top 3 team in the Metropolitan division once again. The addition of a skilled player like Patrik Laine would improve their scoring depth on the wings and further solidify an already strong chance at contending for 1st place with the likes of the New York Rangers and the improved New Jersey Devils.
With roughly 6 weeks until the opening of training camp we will see if GM Eric Tulsky can make any additional changes to bolster his teams lineup in the form of Patrik Laine or another top six forward.