Trade Proposal Has Patrik Laine Headed To The Nashville Predators

With Patrik Laine remaining in the NHL Player Assitance Program, no one really knows what's going to happen with the Finnish winger. 

One thing is for certain, people who follow other teams know that Patrik Laine is still talented and understands what he could bring to a team when fully engaged and healthy. And with the Nashville Predators making major moves this off-season, trading for Patrik Laine seems to be right up Nashville's alley. Nashville has officially decided to go for a Stanley Cup, and soon. 

Jeremy Gover, host of the It's All Your Fault Podcast had a very interesting trade proposal. In his proposal, Columbus would get Cody Glass, Philip Tomasino, Dante Fabbro, and Yaroslav Askarov. Nashville would get Patrik Laine with $3 million of Laine's salary retained by Columbus. 

The Hockey News Nashville's Emma Lingan liked the proposal until she heard Yaroslav Askarov's name in the trade. She thinks that the Preds, since they've set the price for Askarov fairly high already, would want more just for him, instead of being used as sort of a "throw-in," along with all the other pieces. She also mentions that Columbus probably wants to ship Laine off and not retain any salary. 

As a reminder, Patrik Laine can be traded, but teams will most likely want to talk to him directly before any trade is made. He only has two years left on his deal and then he will be a UFA. 

You can listen to the full podcast below.

To Columbus:

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Jackets fans would probably be extremely excited about a trade like this, but as Lingan said, any deal involving Askarov would likely need to involve more pieces. It's possible the Preds wouldn't want Askarov involved at all. But, after just extending Saros until 2033 and signing Scott Wedgewood for two seasons, they may not have a choice in the matter. Yaroslav might just "Ask"arov his way out of Nashville. 

If Askarov was not a part of this deal, and instead just sent Glass, Tomasino, and Fabbro to Columbus, while the CBJ sent Laine, with no salary retained, is this deal more realistic? Would you trade the rest of Laine's salary for leaving Askarov out of the trade?

With Laine going public that he wants out of Columbus for a "fresh start," I'm sure new GM Don Waddell is working every possible angle. The hangup is that no one can talk to Laine until he's out of the Player Assistance Program. Waddell has said once or twice that he expects Laine to exit the program "any day," but so far, that hasn't happened. Of course, there's still the possibility that Laine stays with Columbus. 

Until then, we'll continue to have fun speculating on where Patrik Laine will end up. 

What do you think about this trade proposal? Please share your thoughts on our forum.

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