COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets may be moving forward with their final big trade of the offseason.
The club was notified Thursday that veteran winger Patrik Laine had been cleared by the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program after he had been receiving treatment for mental health reasons since late January.
The biggest news here, of course, is that the 26-year-old Laine has been deemed recovered enough to resume his NHL career. Participation in the program is voluntary, but players cannot participate until a program doctor gives them the OK on a medical exam.
Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell, who has been busy restructuring Columbus’ roster and searching for a new coach since being hired in late May, said several NHL clubs have expressed interest in trading for Laine, but each club wants to talk to the player first.
Now those calls can begin. Besides his mental state, NHL clubs will likely be asking questions about Laine, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery he underwent over the offseason.
With Laine now exonerated, further clubs are expected to show interest.
Laine appeared in just 18 games last season, winning six games, losing three games and drawing nine games for a minus-10 rating. He broke his collarbone in a game against Toronto on Dec. 14 and was expected to return to the lineup when he was announced for the team on Jan. 28.
Shortly after joining the program, Layne posted on social media:
“After careful consideration and discussions with my support network and team, I have realized it is important for me to prioritize my mental health and well-being. Hockey has been my passion and my life, but I realize that in order to perform at my best, I need to use this time to focus on myself. I appreciate the understanding and support of my team, the league and our fans during this time. I look forward to returning to the ice with a clear head and renewed energy. Thank you for respecting my privacy during this time and for your continued support. Love, Patty.”
This spring, Laine told the Blue Jackets he wanted a change of scenery.
Waddell has said he would like to make a “hockey trade” involving Laine — meaning he would like to acquire a starting player as part of a return package without forfeiting a significant portion of Laine’s salary — but a deal would be difficult to get done this late in the offseason with many clubs already finalizing their rosters.
The other two obstacles:
• Laine has two years left on his contract that pays him $8.7 million per season, but adding one would be a big hit against the salary cap for most clubs at this point.
• Laine’s contract has a limited no-trade clause that allows him to choose 10 NHL clubs to which he cannot be traded. Given Laine’s desire to leave Columbus, it’s unclear if he’ll be flexible on that list, but it’s possible he could be.
Laine, who was traded to Columbus with Jack Roslovic on Jan. 23, 2021, has a 64-74-138 record and minus-58 rating in 174 games. He has also missed 123 games due to injury or illness and has never played more than 56 games in a season.
The acquisition of Johnny Gaudreau two offseasons ago was expected to unlock Laine’s incredible skill as a goal scorer, but the two never meshed well together despite playing together on the forward line and power-play unit.
Over the past two seasons, Gaudreau was the primary assist on only six of Laine’s 28 goals.
The Blue Jackets underwent a makeover in the offseason, losing several players (Jake Bean, Adam Boqvist, Alex Nielunder and Alexandre Texier), signing two big free agents (center Sean Monahan and defenseman Jack Johnson) and bringing in a new coach.
Former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason was hired Monday to replace Pascal Vincent, who was fired after just one season in the job.
Waddell has three restricted free agents waiting to be signed: Kirill Marchenko, Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson. Marchenko has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 31, so some sort of deal is likely to happen by the middle of next week.
That leaves Laine with the last big move of the summer, with training camp about eight weeks away.
(Photo: Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images)
