The Columbus Blue Jackets have made Patrik Laine available via trade and St. Louis should be seeing what it would take to acquire the former 40-goal scorer.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Columbus Blue Jackets and former No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft Patrik Laine intend to find a suitable trading partner to give the Finnish winger a new home for the 2024-25 season.
Laine is coming off a season where he suffered a shoulder injury early in the year, which forced him to play only 18 games.
Although he suffered a setback due to his injury this season, there had been promising signs in his two previous campaigns that the lethal goal-scoring winger was getting his confidence back.
There’s no denying that Laine has one of the most lethal releases on his shot in the game. The whip he generates on his stick fires the puck at lightning speed, and he’s got that pinpoint accuracy. He went No. 2 in his draft for a reason. He’s a highly talented goal-scorer in a big 6-foot-5 frame.
So where does he fit in for the Blues and why would they go and acquire him?
Last month fellow Site Editor, Lou Korac, wrote five free agents the Blues should target. One was Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk due to the team’s need to add another goal scoring winger.
St. Louis ranked 25th in the league last year in goals for. The team had one 30-goal scorer in Jordan Kyrou and five other players who scored 20+. Overall, that’s not terrible. But in today’s NHL seeing how goals have been up over the last two seasons, you need more to contend.
Additionally, St. Louis’ powerplay last year struggled. Their 18% on the powerplay ranked 24th in the league. The Blues improved on the man-advantage after Drew Bannister took over behind the bench as Head Coach. But the team could use Laine’s explosive one-timer on the left-side faceoff circle, where talented playmaker Robert Thomas could be feeding him pucks all year long.
While I agree with Lou and that DeBrusk would be an excellent addition. What if you cast that rod out to acquire a bigger fish?
Laine could come in and as long as health is on his side — and we sure hope it is considering his bad luck with injuries lately — and add another 30 goals, while drastically improving their powerplay.
Another factor to account for is what the Blues will do with Russian winger Pavel Buchnevich. He’s entering the final year of his four-year $23.2 million contract and his name was circulating in trade rumors leading up to the trade deadline last season.
If the Blues aren’t committed to extending the 29-year-old, then it would make a lot of sense to go after a player who is younger and one who can provide the same offensive punch to replace him.
Laine is 26 years old and may not have reached his prime yet. We often see players have their best seasons (outside of the superstars) between the ages of 27-30. Ryan O’Reilly was 28 when he won the Cup here in St. Louis, and fellow star player Vladimir Tarasenko was 27.
Maybe the Blues can catch Laine at the perfect time? He has two years left on his contract, plus a 10-team no-trade clause, and brings a rather hefty cap hit at $8.7 million. St. Louis has the cap space to make it work thanks to the salary cap increasing to $88 million.
But the powerful Finnish winger has the capabilities of being a game-breaker with his incredible shot and flashy one-on-one hands.
The issue throughout his career has been being able to stay consistent in his play without the puck. Maybe strong two-way forwards like Brayden Schenn and Kevin Hayes can aid him in that regard.