Obviously, I don't know Patrik, I wasn't here last year. He went into the program 28 games into the year, and he's been very vocal about it, way before I got here, that he does not want to play for the Blue Jackets. There was a lot of things that went on in the locker room and he just doesn't want it."
Waddell goes on to say, " This is different because it's harder to bring him back knowing the situation. But saying that, that might be the option. We're into the summer, he's got a high cap hit for two years. I'm talking to teams every day, I've got two or three teams engaged right now, we'll see where it goes. At the end of the day, like I told Andy Scott, his representation, I can try to do it, but if there's not a deal to be made, he's going to have to come back here to camp and we'll welcome him back and try to make the best out of the situation
Waddell was also asked if he thought Patrik Laine would show up for camp. "I can't answer for him whether he shows up or not. Obviously, he makes $8.7 cap, $9.1 cash, so eventually I think he might because that's a lot of money. As far as if he's still a Blue Jacket come training camp, it's our responsibility to try to put him in the best environment. Because a couple of things, one is maybe this trade doesn't happen now, but it can happen at Christmas time. You know he gets back to where he can be as a goal-scorer, all that. Someone might say "Hey you know what, that's a good value, let's go make a deal for him." So there's still a lot that can play out as we sit here today
if you remember back , Porty called the locker room a 4th grade classroom.. no veterans other than Boone allowed to have a voice .. first I’ve seen WHY PL wants traded .