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Update On Patrik Laine Trade Talk Out of Winnipeg

More information is starting to surface about a possible Patrik Laine trade out of Winnipeg. How likely is a deal?

Insiders will be watching the situation between Patrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets closely after Laine’s name showed up on TSN’s Top 20 Trade Bait Board this past week. With talk that the Jets might use Laine to solve some of their issues on the blue line and that he may not be the most beloved of players from an organizational standpoint, there’s certainly a lot of buzz surrounding the dynamic scoring forward.

In an update on the latest developments when it comes to the winger, Scott Billeck, a beat writer and sports reporter for the Winnipeg Sun reports:

Thoughts on the Patrik Laine: “You don’t give up on a 22-year-old, 40-goal scorer coming off one of his most complete seasons as a player. Unless the Jets think he’s peaked at 22, there’s no way he should be trade bait. Crazy.”

Billeck admits that the Jets might need to move a bigger-name piece to land a more prominent defenseman, but he’s not sold on that piece being Laine. At least, he wouldn’t do that deal if it were up to him. He says, “Laine shouldn’t be that guy.” He adds, “Sure, his defence isn’t great, but his offensive acumen is too good to pass up on after 138 goals in 305 NHL games. He’s 22 and nearly a point-per-game player. Absolutely insane.”

Related: Insider Says Jets Could Make Laine and Ehlers Available in Trade

Laine Is a Less Flexible Player

Meanwhile, Darren Dreger of TSN has added that part of the reason Laine might be up higher on the trade bait board than another Jets player in Nikolaj Ehlers, it’s because Ehlers is considered a very “happy-go-lucky” guy. There’s a lot more flexibility on his part to play anywhere in the line-up and Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice can use him in the top six or in the bottom six as he pleases, knowing he can be trusted in all areas.

Speculation is that Laine, on the other hand, can be quite happy when he is on a line with Mark Scheifele, but almost miserable when he’s not.

The more talk that’s out there, the more it seems like there might be something to these Laine rumors. If so, that might be among the bigger trades of the offseason and it will be intriguing to see which teams start popping up as potential suitors for his services.

And, what does he fetch in trade? He’s not terribly expensive yet, but he likely will be. He’s got one more season at $6.75 million and if he explodes offensively, he’ll command a much bigger pay day as a restricted free agent at the end of that deal.

Next: Drouin Rips Canadiens Market Over Domi Rumors

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