Bad feeling about Laine already rises across the NHL following trade to Columbus

The swap took place over the weekend as the Columbus Blue Jackets sent Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round draft pick, getting Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic in return from the Winnipeg Jets. But you have to know you’re going to hear about it some more. Especially since folks are getting nervous that Laine has yet to talk about a potential contract extension with his new team, the Blue Jackets.

According to Pierre LeBrun, who explained everything that’s being sad around the National Hockey League about the trade and the lack of extension talks, many assumed Laine would be inked to a deal as soon as the trade was made official, like we often see when a player’ current deal runs through the end of this season and at $6.75M. Here is how LeBrun talked about it on last night’s Insider Trading on TSN: 

“There have not been any talks yet and that in itself is surprising. I think some teams around the league thought that if and when Laine got dealt that team would have asked permission to perhaps explore what a new deal would look like. But I think Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has a lot of confidence in his relationship with Laine. I know that Kekalainen told me that he had a terrific conversation with Laine over the weekend about the team’s long-term vision and him wanting to be a part of that solution. But for the time being I don’t think Laine’s camp is in any hurry to begin talks. I think they want their client to get to Columbus, adjust to his new surroundings, and worry about the contract much later down the road. Here’s where it will get interesting: we know that Kekalainen offered an eight-year deal, the max deal, to Pierre-Luc Dubois. It stands to reason he’d be willing to do the same for Laine. I’m not sure that Laine’s camp would look at eight years. When you look at the economic landscape of the NHL and the flat cap, a medium-term deal probably would make more sense for Laine whenever they get to that.” 

The Blue Jackets had indeed different offers on the table for Dubois, one for two years, another for three and one more for eight years before agreeing to the first offer, two-year, $10 million that still didn’t incite Dubois to stick around. The Jackets’ eight-year long offer was one that would have paid him around $ 64 million in total, or an average value of $ 8 million a year. This contract would have made him the highest paid player in franchise history. 

Not sure Laine will be up for that huge of an offer due to the length of it. And as LeBrun points out, he probably wants to settle in Columbus first and see if he can picture a future there. 

The thing that gets people’s eyebrows raised is that Laine didn’t reveal publicly any interest for a long-term deal with his new deal, though he might have talked about it with his new general manager. 

Let’s chill, folks, and see how he does in his first game with the Blue Jackets.  As of late Monday night, John Shannon of Sportsnet reported that Laine remains in Winnipeg awaiting a US work visa. Once he obtains his visa he will fly on a private charter to Columbus where he will then quarantine for 48 hours.