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Patrik Laine

Trade Rumors: Laine, Dumba, Rust

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While it is Frank Seravalli who produces TSN’s Trade Bait board, colleagues Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun backed up the trade statuses of a pair of players at the top of his board on this evening’s edition of Insider Trading. While he may be only 22 years old with four 50+ point seasons under his belt, don’t dismiss the rumors surrounding Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine as wild speculation, warns Dreger. He states that the Jets are “serious” and absolutely listening on the young scorer. In fact, the Laine noise has not been louder merely because the interest has been limited so far, either due to the asking price or other teams not truly believing that Laine is for sale. LeBrun notes that the Columbus Blue Jackets are one team that is definitely interested in Laine. The team sorely needs high-end talent up front as may have the top-four defenseman and young center that Winnipeg desires. Another team that also kicked the tires on Laine was the Carolina Hurricanes, but LeBrun believes that they balked at the asking price for the Finnish sniper and talks fell off after that. One team that hasn’t checked in on Laine yet? The Montreal Canadiens. While LeBrun acknowledges that the Canadiens could desperately use a player of Laine’s ability, they thus far have been hesitant to enter negotiations.

  • The trade availability of Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, No. 2 on the trade bait board, has been far more concrete, as teams and the media alike can look ahead to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and see the conundrum coming down the line for the Wild. Yet, Dreger states that Dumba is on the block, but Minnesota is not in a rush to move him. He believes that the Wild will hold on to Dumba, perhaps even through the season, until the asking price is met. Right now, that price is believed to be a legitimate top-six center, which Dreger feels might be asking too much. The other option could be a high first-round pick and a young roster forward, which is a more likely return. The team will hold out for one of those two returns, as there is no urgency to move on from Dumba at a lower price.
  • One name that rival GM’s are asking about who isn’t necessarily on the block is Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust. Rust is coming off of a career year, but it seems like no one on the Penguins roster is safe, leading other teams to ask the question. GM Jim Rutherford tells The Athletic’s Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe that he will listen to any offer, but isn’t keen to trade Rust. However, another sources tells The Athletic that Rutherford would part with Rust for an NHL-ready prospect and another top prospect. That might be a heavy price to pay, but don’t rule out the possibility in an unpredictable off-season.

Patrik Laine Drawing Trade Speculation

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The Winnipeg Jets looked like they might be primed for a long playoff run when things returned this summer, given their Vezina-finalist goaltender and deep offensive attack. Then, partway through the first game against the Calgary Flames, disaster struck. After just three shifts, Mark Scheifele was down. Writhing in pain after a collision with Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, the Jets quickly lost their most important forward and a huge part of their leadership group.

Later that game, that offensive depth was tested once again as Laine exited with a hand injury. Suddenly, the Jets didn’t look quite as deep or dangerous and it quickly showed on the scoresheet. The team bowed out in the qualification round while scoring just six goals in four games.

Now, after such a disappointing—perhaps unlucky—five-game series, speculation is running rampant over what the Jets will do this summer. It’s no secret that they need to upgrade a defense corps that lost Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers all in one offseason, but how exactly will they address that underperforming offense?

That question apparently leads to Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, who both find themselves on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Bait board for TSN. The scribe even writes that Laine is “expected to be in play this offseason” as the Jets fix other issues on the roster. The sniper lands fifth on his board, while Ehlers comes in at 12.

It’s not the first time that Laine trade speculation has emerged. Last fall, the talented forward was quoted in Finland saying that he didn’t feel he was playing with the best players on Winnipeg’s roster. That distraction was quickly quashed by the team’s leadership group, but given how inconsistent Laine’s play has been, these questions were bound to surface again.

When he first debuted in the NHL as an 18-year old, it seemed nothing could stop the second-overall pick. Laine scored in his first game and had two hat tricks in his first month as an NHLer. He’d finish with 36 goals and 64 points in just 73 games as a rookie, coming second in Calder Trophy voting behind only Auston Matthews. The next season was even better, with Laine leading the league in powerplay goals and finishing with 44 tallies in all situations. Winnipeg had found the next Finnish Flash, able to score from anywhere on the ice.

But then came 2018-19, when Laine took a considerable step backward. He scored 21 times in his first 24 games, including a five-goal output against the St. Louis Blues in late November, but recorded just three assists over that stretch. Starting in December, he scored just four goals and nine points over his next 36 games and was dropped further and further down the lineup as his overall game suffered. He’d finish with just nine goals in the 58 games from December on, despite still averaging more than 17 minutes a night.

While he rebounded this year with a much better overall performance, speculation about his future in Winnipeg has not disappeared. Part of that also has to do with the fact that his current contract, a two-year bridge deal he signed in 2019, expires after the 2020-21 season. Laine currently carries a $6.75MM cap hit but will earn $7.5MM of the deal next season, after which he’ll be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent.

Seravalli writes that it’s not “a lock” that Laine will be traded, which is obvious given his immense talent and relative youth. But if big changes are coming in Winnipeg, his name will always be at the center of any speculation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Morning Notes: Jets, Jarry, Stamkos

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The Winnipeg Jets are going home a little earlier than they had hoped after losing game four to the Calgary Flames last night. Eliminated from the playoffs, they could finally reveal what happened to Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine, explaining to Sara Orlesky of TSN that neither one is expected to miss an extended period of time. Head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t believe there is any Achilles damage for Schiefele, who yelled in pain on the ice after colliding with Matthew Tkachuk in game one. Maurice called it “a crush” not a cut, but did admit that his top center is still undergoing further testing.

Laine meanwhile sprained his hand in the opener and couldn’t hold a stick, but Maurice believes he’ll only be out for a few weeks. Mason Appleton, who isn’t quite as important to the team as the former two, will also be out just a few weeks with a shoulder injury. The Jets will finally say goodbye to a 2019-20 season that was quite the rollercoaster, starting with Dustin Byfuglien’s disappearance and ending with two of their offensive leaders watching from the stands.

  • If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to avoid the same fate, they’ll need to stave off elimination against the Montreal Canadiens today. To do so they’ll call upon Tristan Jarry, starting him in game four over Matt Murray who has lost two of the first three. Murray did post a .914 save percentage in those games but received endless online criticism for how he played a shot from Jeff Petry, which ended up being the winning goal. After starting his career out with two Stanley Cups before his rookie status expired, Murray now has just two wins in his last 12 playoff contests. Jarry meanwhile will be making his playoff debut in an elimination game and has just 62 appearances at the NHL level under his belt.
  • Steven Stamkos won’t be playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they face the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow in a winner-takes-all round-robin game. The Lightning and Flyers have both won the first two round-robin contests, meaning whoever takes tomorrow’s game will be the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the duration of the playoffs. Stamkos won’t be able to help, and though he is working hard and rehabbing, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the captain will be out indefinitely.

Morning Notes: Scheifele, Ferland, Dano

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The Winnipeg Jets don’t have long to turn things around, but there was at least some good news coming out of the hotel in Edmonton this morning. Sara Orlesky of TSN tweets that one of her sources has indicated Mark Scheifele’s injury is not believed to be long-term, but he and Patrik Laine are still doubtful for game two.

While that leaves the Jets scrambling for options in their top-six and at risk of being quickly eliminated by the Calgary Flames, it does bode well for next season. Speculation on Scheifele’s injury rant wild in the aftermath of game one, with some expecting him to require surgery and miss an extended amount of time. Hopefully, as Orlesky reports, that’s not the case.

  • Micheal Ferland may be facing some discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after spearing a player on the Minnesota Wild bench last night, but Darren Dreger of TSN believes it is more likely a fine than a suspension. Ferland also had a fight with Marcus Foligno in his return to the Vancouver lineup. The 28-year old hadn’t played since December after suffering post-concussion symptoms. (UPDATE: Ferland has received a $5,000 fine, according to several reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.)
  • Marko Dano still hasn’t established himself as a full-time NHL player, meaning it comes as little surprise when a report out of the Czech Republic has him hoping to go overseas next season. The 25-year old was a first-round pick in 2013 but has just 141 NHL games and 45 NHL points under his belt since then. Dano apparently would be willing to sign with HC Ocelari Trinec, the parent team for the club his father coaches. Dano’s one-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets will expire after this season, though he will still be a restricted free agent.

Injury Notes: Scheifele, Schmaltz, Fast, Hamilton

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The Winnipeg Jets may have lost their top center and top sniper in the same game, as both Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine left last night’s test against the Calgary Flames with an injury. Scheifele’s in particular looked serious, as he collided with Matthew Tkachuk and fell to the ground bellowing in pain. The hit got quite the response from head coach Paul Maurice, who indicated today that both players were still undergoing examination, and updates would be issued later in the day.

If the Jets do lose Schiefele for the rest of the qualification round they’ll have to figure out an answer on the top line and find a way to dig themselves out of the early hole after losing to Calgary last night. Here’s more info about injuries around the league:

  • Nick Schmaltz will not play in game one for the Arizona Coyotes after taking a high hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in the exhibition match. Schmaltz, the Coyotes leading scorer from the regular season, played in four playoffs games with Chicago in 2017 but hasn’t seen the postseason since. Youngster Barret Hayton will be making his own playoff debut after suiting up just 20 times this season.
  • The New York Rangers are still not sure of Igor Shesterkin’s availability for game two according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, but will not have Jesper Fast in the lineup. Fast was hit hard by former teammate Brady Skjei and was forced from yesterday’s game after just a minute of ice time. The depth winger is a key part of the Rangers leadership group and recorded 29 points in 69 games this season.
  • Dougie Hamilton is getting better according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, but won’t be in the lineup for Carolina tomorrow. The Hurricanes did just fine without their top offensive defenseman, but relied heavily on their top two pairings—Jake Gardiner played just 11:55 while Jaccob Slavin logged 24:40.

Injury Updates: Vesey, Montour, Patrick, Sharks, Jets

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While the Sabres listed Jimmy Vesey as out week-to-week due to an upper-body injury at the beginning of this week, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports that the winger may wind up returning as soon as Saturday.  If that happens, he’ll wind up missing only three games due to the issue which was sustained last Thursday.  He wasn’t placed on IR so they won’t need to make a roster move when he’s ready to return.

One player that they will soon have to activate off IR though is defenseman Brandon Montour.  Harrington notes that the blueliner is likely to make his season debut on Friday against Washington although it’s unknown who he’ll line up with.  However, as Buffalo currently has an open spot under the 23-man limit, they won’t need to send anyone to the minors in order to bring Montour back onto the active roster.

Other injury news around the league:

  • While it looked like Flyers center Nolan Patrick was progressing towards a return, GM Chuck Fletcher poured some cold water on the thought he’d be back soon, telling reporters, including Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia, that there’s no change to Patrick’s status and that they hope he continues to improve. The 21-year-old has missed the entire season so far with migraine issues and while he had started skating with the team, he appears to have been backed off for now as he didn’t skate today.
  • Sharks center Dylan Gambrell has been ruled out through the weekend due to an upper-body injury, reports Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link). That means he’ll miss at least the next two games.  Meanwhile, Kurz adds that defenseman Radim Simek will play another game in the minors on his rehab assignment on Friday and then be re-evaluated to see if he’s ready to make his season debut with the Sharks.  With no timeline for Dalton Prout to return, they could certainly use the extra depth on the roster.
  • Jets winger Patrik Laine will miss his second straight game on Friday due to a lower-body issue, notes Ken Wiebe of The Athletic (Twitter link). Center Bryan Little’s availability is also in question.  Accordingly, Wiebe expects Winnipeg to recall a forward tomorrow; they have an open roster spot following the demotion of blueliner Ville Heinola earlier today.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Sandin, Defense Market

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for the second week of the season, led by Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid. The 22-year old superstar recorded seven points in three games to help the Oilers get off to a fast start and has an early lead in the league scoring race with 12 points in his first five games.

While Sidney Crosby isn’t much of a surprise in the third star spot, many may have not been expecting such a strong start for Patrik Laine who came in second. The Winnipeg Jets sniper had eight points in four games last week and is showing the entire league that last year’s disappointing totals were an aberration.

  • It may have come as a surprise when the Toronto Maple Leafs sent top prospect Rasmus Sandin back to the minor leagues today, but as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet explains, the team wants him to log bigger minutes to continue his current development path. Sandin was sent to the Toronto Marlies after six games with the NHL club, most recently one on Saturday night that included a high hit from Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader. The Maple Leafs have high hopes for Sandin as a future NHL star, and will try to protect their young asset while developing his full potential. For now, it doesn’t appear as though a return to the NHL is coming anytime soon–meaning Sandin’s entry-level contract may slide once again.
  • In Pierre LeBrun’s most recent column for The Athletic (subscription required) the hockey insider examines the trade market for defensemen around the league. Most notably perhaps is that the Dallas Stars are still “actively taking calls” on Julius Honka, who signed a contract in Europe with an NHL out clause. LeBrun suggests that Honka situation isn’t helping the Pittsburgh Penguins who continue to try and unload one of their own defensemen.

West Notes: Laine, Seattle, Strome

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Jets winger Patrik Laine battled inconsistency throughout most of last season with a significant portion of his 30 goals last season coming in November where he scored 18 times.  Beyond that month, he struggled considerably at times and admitted to NHL.com’s Tim Campbell that the stress of not having a contract beyond the end of the year was getting to him.  With a lot of top players now bypassing the bridge deals altogether, there’s a lot more pressure knowing that the big money contract can be on the horizon.  However, his inconsistencies ultimately resulted in him having to take a short-term pact but he certainly seems more comfortable now as his ten points in five games give him a tie for the early league lead in scoring.

More from the West:

  • While Seattle has their GM in place already in Ron Francis, don’t expect them to be naming a head coach for a while. In an appearance on TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that the window for the expansion franchise to name a head coach probably won’t open up until January 2021.  That would still be three months earlier than when Vegas made Gerard Gallant their first bench boss.
  • Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat wasted little time signing a three-year extension earlier this month but it appears that Dylan Strome will be waiting a while for his. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that there have been no discussions regarding an extension between the team and Strome’s representatives.  That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given that his track record of success is much smaller; it’s understandable that Chicago will want to see if his strong performance with them after joining them from Arizona carries over to this season before making a commitment towards getting a new deal done.

Western Notes: Boeser, Laine, Tuch, Burdasov

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The Vancouver Canucks are hoping that they can get Brock Boeser back from concussion for the start of the regular season. The star forward, along with defenseman Oscar Fantenberg, suffered a concussion on Monday against the Ottawa Senators. However, the Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that both players appear to be making progress in their recovery.

The scribe writes that Boeser and Fantenberg skated with the team at practice Saturday for 90 minutes. By participating in practice, the duo are now in Stage 4 of their recovery of the SCAT5 return to play protocol, which involves non-contact training drills. To be cleared, both players must pass through Stage 5, which requires Boeser and Fantenberg to go 24 hours without any symptoms following activity.

With no more practices until Monday, if either player feels well enough, they can be full participants for practice. If they then go 24 hours without symptoms, they will be cleared to play in their season opener on Wednesday against the Oilers in Edmonton.

  • Tim Campbell of NHL.com writes that Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine, who just signed a two-year, $13.5MM contract on Friday, is expected to be in the Jets’ lineup in New York against the Rangers on Thursday. “Being that he’s been training, and has been training with men, our expectation is he’ll be able to come and move around the ice pretty good,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said of the 21-year-old forward, who was a restricted free agent and has not played this preseason. Laine is expected to arrive in Winnipeg on Monday for fitness testing and a physical and then should be ready for practice on Tuesday before the team leaves for New York.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights got some bad news as forward Alex Tuch suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s preseason game after he lost his balance and crashed hard into the boards and was forced to leave the game. Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that Tuch is now listed as week-to-week and is expected to miss the start of the season for a second year in a row. Tuch scored 22 goals and 52 points last season and is currently slated to play on the Golden Knights’ third line.
  • Despite releasing Russian winger Anton Burdasov from his PTO Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers had hoped they could convince the 28-year-old to accept an assignment to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, which might buy some time to get him back on the NHL roster. However, Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson writes that Burdasov intends to return to Russia and was only interested in a one-way deal.

 

Winnipeg Jets Sign Patrik Laine

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The Patrik Laine saga is over as the Winnipeg Jets have signed the star forward to a two-year deal. The contract will carry an average annual value of $6.75MM. Craig Custance of The Athletic confirms that it will pay Laine $6MM in 2019-20 and $7.5MM in 2020-21.

Laine, 21, secured the same number that Brayden Point did earlier this month, but for one fewer year thanks to his huge goal totals in the NHL since entering in 2016. The second overall pick in 2016, Laine immediately burst onto the scenes with one of the most lethal shots on the league and the ability to get to dangerous spots in order to unleash it. With 36 goals as a rookie he came second in Calder Trophy voting and followed it up with an outstanding 44-goal, 70-point sophomore year. That included a league-leading 20 goals on the powerplay, where Laine seemingly took up residence in Alex Ovechkin’s left-circle mansion.

Unfortunately, basically every offensive statistic declined for Laine in 2018-19 (except for shots, amazingly). Suddenly an extremely inconsistent offensive player, he went long stretches without a single goal and recorded 18 of his 30 total in a 12-game stretch through November. That consistency simply has to get better if Laine ever wants to become the elite talent he has shown flashes of, and return to the upper-echelon of stars in the NHL.

If he does get back there, this two-year bridge deal could certainly pay off for him. He’ll already become Winnipeg’s second-highest paid player (at least while Kyle Connor remains unsigned) for this season ahead of Mark Scheifele but behind captain Blake Wheeler, and could potentially sign an extremely lucrative long-term deal down the road. He’ll have two years of restricted free agency left after this deal expires, but will have arbitration rights as well, meaning another situation like this is extremely unlikely.

The question now becomes if Laine is ready to jump right into game action with the Jets starting next week. Even with a two-year window, he needs to start performing right away if he wants to put this difficult negotiation behind him and set himself up to earn the most he possibly can.

For the Jets, it was extremely important to get Laine back under contract before the season started. After losing Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot, Brandon Tanev and potentially Dustin Byfuglien this summer, the team looks completely different and thin at several positions. Had the year begun without Laine or Connor under contract they would be even more undermanned and at an extreme disadvantage in the Central Division playoff race.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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