3 Landing Spots for Patrik Laine Ahead of the Trade Deadline

Patrik Laine’s time with the Montreal Canadiens appears to be all but over. After just 57 games in the red, blue, and white, the Finnish sniper is widely expected to be on the move before the March 6 trade deadline, with reports suggesting the next time he takes the ice, it will be in a different jersey.

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It’s a breakup that has felt inevitable since Laine was injured back in October, as a pending UFA on a team that no longer had a need for him in its lineup. Now that a trade appears almost certain, let’s dive into three logical landing spots that could take a flier on the former second-overall pick (2016).

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have become one of the league’s more aggressive teams in recent years, and that isn’t expected to change anytime soon. GM Eric Tulsky’s club is once again the class of the Metropolitan Division, so expect Carolina to be all-in as it looks to push itself over the top in pursuit of a Stanley Cup.

Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Nikolaj Ehlers lead the charge offensively, but there’s no doubt the Hurricanes could use another scoring threat — which Laine still is when healthy. He’s familiar with fellow Finn Aho, having dominated as linemates at the international level, and also spent four seasons alongside Ehlers to begin his NHL career in Winnipeg. Slot Laine into a top-six role while manning his off-side on the top power-play unit, and the Canes become that much more dangerous.

Carolina also has ample cap space, capable of absorbing Laine’s full $8.7 million salary if necessary, though reports indicate Montreal would be willing to retain up to 50 percent of the contract, making a deal even easier to work out.

Seattle Kraken

Kraken GM Jason Botterill is eager to make a splash. He’s dangled former fourth-overall pick (2022) Shane Wright in trade talks, and recently offered Artemi Panarin a four-year, $56 million extension that would have tied him with Leon Draisaitl as the second-highest paid player in hockey at $14 million annually.

Given that, along with the fact that Seattle currently sits third in the Pacific Division, it’s safe to say Botterill is still shopping for high-end talent. While Laine comes with plenty of risk, he also represents a low-risk move with the potential for major reward. Seattle already has a plethora of solid forwards; what it lacks is upside, which Laine could provide while helping boost the league’s 23rd-ranked offense.

Seattle has some cap flexibility to work with, though it would require some salary retention or moving out a contract to finalize a deal. That shouldn’t be much of an issue, however, given the Canadiens’ willingness to retain money along with the pending UFAs the Kraken could look to shed in the process.

Utah Mammoth

Lastly, there’s the Mammoth, who also currently hold down a playoff spot in the Western Conference as the top wild card heading into the Olympic break. Like Tulsky and Botterill, GM Bill Armstrong and new owner Ryan Smith have shown they can and want to continue to make big moves.

Utah is clearly on the rise and loaded with young talent, but if they want any chance of competing with Central Division juggernauts like Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota, they’ll need to keep adding firepower. Taking a gamble on Laine is one way to do that, and given their significant struggles on the man advantage this season — 31st in the league at 15.6 percent — there couldn’t be a better time to attempt such an acquisition.

They have almost enough cap space to handle Laine’s full $8.7 million cap hit, but like Seattle, would need slight retention or to move a contract elsewhere for a deal to come to fruition.

Next: Insider Suggests Canadiens Could Revisit a Trade for Jordan Kyrou