It’s almost August, and Laine’s situation hasn’t changed. He’s still in the player assistance program and is with the Columbus Blue Jackets. GM Don Waddell was hopeful Laine would be cleared from the program before he became a free agent, but with a busy offseason behind us, it’s interesting to see what happens next.
With training camp now just two months away, a trade seems less and less likely. It’s hard to imagine Laine getting the green light from the NHLPA while the rest of the league is hunkered down in a vacation home somewhere in Ontario. Maybe he’ll get the green light in September, but what does that mean for the Blue Jackets?
Unfortunately, Waddell has been put in a tight spot. There will still be teams interested in Laine, but the return may not include anything that would immediately strengthen the Blue Jackets. Reports this week have Carolina trying to sign Necas, so that plan may have fallen through. The team has already signed a free agent and has its roster pretty much set, so any trade at this point would likely lean heavily towards picks and prospects. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, especially if it was with Utah or Seattle, but obviously, there is more risk involved with these kinds of deals.
So what happens if the deal doesn’t get done before the season starts? We may never see Patrick Laine in a Blue Jackets jersey again. Unless Laine refuses to attend camp, they won’t trade him just for the sake of trading. That brings us back to the issue of a lack of forwards. If Laine suddenly returns to the team, they’ll have to make room for him, which means either moving someone from the top nine to the fourth line or moving him to Cleveland.
That could bring a new wrinkle to the situation: Waddell hasn’t had a chance to speak to Laine directly because Laine is still in the assistance program. Even if Laine is unhappy with the situation in Columbus, almost everything has changed since last spring. There’s a new GM, a new coach and a new top-six center. Will Laine be convinced to give it another go?
As a fan, it’s hard to have a clear opinion on which outcome is preferable without knowing what the trade return will be. Many would undoubtedly be bummed if Laine were traded primarily for his future. Columbus fans have been down that road before, and it has rarely worked out to their advantage. On the other hand, many would like to see Laine play with a stronger center tier under a new coach. Either way, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be resolved anytime soon.
