Patrik Laine’s $7.5 million contract is expiring; however, he and the Columbus Blue Jackets are not even close to agreeing to a contract extension. Rumors from The Athletic note that, although talks between Laine’s agent and the Blue Jackets are amicable, there has been no progress to speak of.
The Blue Jackets’ general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told The Athletic, “Like with anything, it takes its course. If they want to agree, we can do it quickly. If they don’t, it can take time. I don’t think it will affect anything we do (next weekend) at the draft.”
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Continuing Conversation Has Yielded Little Progress
The report is that agents for both Laine and the Blue Jackets are speaking every few days. However, there’s nothing to report at this time.
Although Laine didn’t play after April 16 because he suffered an upper-body injury, in the 56 games he did play he scored 26 goals and added 30 assists (for 56 points). That’s obviously a point-a-game pace. (from “Patrik Laine, Blue Jackets continue to talk contract as busy offseason begins,” Aaron Portzline, The Athletic, 01/07/2022).
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