Blue Jackets GM optimistic a Patrik Laine trade can still get done

With most of the NHL’s top free agents having already signed new deals, teams have turned to the trade market to try and fill their need for an impact scorer.

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine may just be the best available player to be had via trade, and despite missing out on the two likeliest windows to trade him — before the draft and the start of free agency — Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell is still optimistic he can trade the star left winger.

“Teams keep checking in to see if there’s anything new,” Waddell recently told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. “I tell them, ‘You guys have to be comfortable with (Laine), and I can’t help you.’ I don’t know the player personally. I’m not one to try and trick people either, so (we) made him available to chat (when he’s cleared).”

Laine, who reportedly requested to be traded this offseason, is still in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program after checking himself in back in January, citing a need to prioritize his mental health and well-being.

Though no team — including Columbus — can communicate with Laine while he’s in the program, he can still be traded. However, Waddell disclosed that all inquiring teams interested in Laine have said they want to speak with him before officially making a trade offer for him.

Despite not having a timeline on exactly when Laine will be able to speak with interested teams, Waddell doesn’t seem to feel any pressure on getting a potential trade done with any expediency.

“If (teams) have the (salary) cap (space) today, they’ll probably still have it tomorrow,” he added. “I know there are teams that are still interested.”

Traded to Columbus in January 2021 along with Jack Roslovic from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Pierre Luc-Dubois and a 2022 third-round pick, Laine signed a four-year, $34.8M extension in 2022.

The 26-year-old Laine, who played just 18 games last season before entering the player assistance program, has a 10-team no-trade list. So if he is moved, he will at least have some say in where he ends up.