Patrik Laine to the devils for...?

[Easternbull]

Just wanted to know what the possible return in a trade could be and regardless of your opinions, it seems like the majority think Hischier or Mercer for Laine would be a fair trade, correct?

We can all want different outcomes for our favourite teams but the power is in the gm's and agents hands.

I think he is getting delt with a handshake agrement on a long term deal, unfortunetly I don't think it will be to my favourite team(flyers). My guess ,like it or not. he will be a duck, king, devil, islander, cane or a panther long term.

My personal opinion is that Patrik is not a diva and by all accounts a great team mate. IMHO he wanted to move on from Winnipeg because it looked like neither Scheiffele or Wheeler could not handle him being the most popular player in Winnnipeg and did not want to play with him and Paul Maurice did nothing about it.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Laine is already back to his old form, despite playing on a team that doesn’t have the potential stars and the playmaker he needs in order to be that goal machine he was in Winnipeg, in Columbus. The guy is at a PPG pace and has an even rating when 90% of the team is a minus. I understand that +/- isn’t the best of stats but for someone who’s being knocked for his piss poor defensive game, it’s somewhat telling when the rest of the team is way far below his current pace.

I do understand the salary part of it all and that’s where it becomes more complicated, I’ll give you that but the argument that a 30/40 goal scorer is almost useless because he doesn’t dig pucks out of corners doesn’t make much sense to me. We can get that forward some other way and pair him with Hughes and Laine, making that line a well balanced line. Everyone has to have a role and at the moment, we’re lacking a legit sniper and we have too many pass happy forwards.

Like I said, I’m a HUGE fan of Mercer and said a few months back that he’d take Nico’s place as our 2nd line center in no time, so I have high hopes for the kid. However, I’d rather have a Laine-Hughes duo + Nico-Bratt-Holtz top #6 then playing Jack-Nico and Dawson down the middle or possibly bringing Dawson on the wing. Mercer even stated that he prefers to play down the middle, so why shift him on the wing at a position he doesn’t really like, just because we have no options at wing? It just seems, to me, that we have too many round pegs and we’re trying to force them in square holes.

This team can’t wait for whoever we’re drafting this year to make an impact for us in 3 years. We handed out big deals to what is supposed to be our core players and we need to make moves that will show some actual results in the standings sooner rather then later. I don’t think Fitz can say to our owners to lock up Nico at 7M+, Jack at 8M, Dougie at 9M, Bratt at something around +/- 6.5M, all on long term deals, and still suck for the next couple of years.

I'm sticking to my guns here -- Mercer is worth as much in the win/loss column now as Laine. In two years it won't be close -- Mercer will be light years ahead. You want to talk about Laine needing more talent? Mercer is playing with linemates like Kuokkanen and Johnsson -- guys not close to the level of whomever Laine is being thrown out there with. We saw what Mercer could do with a talent like Bratt on his line. And he's just 20 and playing center with a 200-foot game which makes one think he could be a future Selke candidate. This trade idea isn't just bad. It's simply abominable.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Just wanted to know what the possible return in a trade could be and regardless of your opinions, it seems like the majority think Hischier or Mercer for Laine would be a fair trade, correct?

We can all want different outcomes for our favourite teams but the power is in the gm's and agents hands.

I think he is getting delt with a handshake agrement on a long term deal, unfortunetly I don't think it will be to my favourite team(flyers). My guess ,like it or not. he will be a duck, king, devil, islander, cane or a panther long term.

My personal opinion is that Patrik is not a diva and by all accounts a great team mate. IMHO he wanted to move on from Winnipeg because it looked like neither Scheiffele or Wheeler could not handle him being the most popular player in Winnnipeg and did not want to play with him and Paul Maurice did nothing about it.

I cannot stress how untrue this is. Winnipeg may be the most hockey rabid town in North America. Half the city goes to every game. Laine was not the most popular player on the team, he was not the best player on the team, and he was never close. He was not popular in the locker room and he was not missed. His compete level and defensive play have been -- rightfully -- dissected all across the North American hockey media. He was traded by a top-notch GM in Kevin Chevaldayoff because Winnipeg was tired of the self-first, team-second attitude.

Here's a 2019 quote from Laine: "When I'm negotiating a new contract, I always want to know who I'll be playing with," Laine told Iltalehti in remarks published Tuesday. "With my merits, I would play with the best elsewhere. Everybody who understands something about hockey knows that.
There are the top lines and then there has been our line."

Every word in that quote is true. This quote reportedly infuriated the entire Winnipeg team, especially then-center Bryan Little and now the guy we know was the best player on the line, Nikolai Ehlers. Laine did later apologize for the quote, but I'm sure people were still sore. Does this sound like Scheifele and Wheeler "not being able to handle" Laine's popularity? No, it certainly sounds like it's the other way around.

As for the reports of Laine being pushed out due to bullying from Blake Wheeler? They all come from an interview with Laine in Finnish paper
Iltalehti (see link: Report: Ugly, behind the scenes details of Laine's divorce from the Jets)

If you want to take Laine's word for it, that's fine. But what about the report by Columbus beat reporter Aaron Portzline which basically confirms that, soon after his trade, Columbus players and coaches had the same complaints about Laine as the Winnipeg players reportedly did: Rumour: multiple players, staff in Columbus think Patrik Laine should be moved this summer | ThePuckers.com

Allegedly, several Columbus players asked management to ship Laine out of town.Were they all bullies just like big, mean Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, or is it possible Laine's attitude is the problem and the negative statements about Wheeler and Scheifele -- both immensely popular with Winnipeg fans and teammates -- were made up by a sulking Laine?

Laine was benched in Columbus for disrespecting his coaches and playing awful defense, something he was well known for Winnipeg: Patrik Laine benched after he 'verbally disrespected' Blue Jackets coach

Or, we can blame that on Blake Wheeler, too.

Look, I'm glad Laine has improved this year. He's been good offensively and just plain bad as opposed to his usual godawful defensively. I hope he can get back to the level of his sophomore season, when he looked like one of the NHL's budding superstars. But -- for the love of all that's holy -- please stop inventing the narrative that Laine is some high-compete, two-way stud who has been unfairly maligned by the horrible other 19 players on the Winnipeg Jets. There is no basis for this except an interview with Laine which came out around the same time his entire new team in Columbus was reportedly begging for him to be shipped out of town.

I hope Laine figures it out -- he's still young -- and develops some character and ability to deal with adversity. But right now he's not worth his salary, and he's also not worth Dawson Mercer straight up in a trade.

 

[Easternbull]

Like I said in MY opinion it is nr 55 who was/is the primadonna in Winnipeg and Laine's jersey was the top seller when he was a Jet so go figure what the fans thought if him.

I never said he was a defensive stud, but saying he is lazy and does not backcheck is just evidence you don't watch columbus games IMHO.

I think it was Atkinson who wanted Laine traded and look who ended up being a flyer!

I quess we will see if Dubois signs long term I hope the Jets move 55 when they can get a good return.

Still think the devils would be a great fit, interesting trade deadline and summer freeagency coming up for sure..

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

I agree with you more often then not but I have to completely disagree with you on Laine. He had a horrible, horrible, year last season and there’s just no way around that. With that said, he’s an immense talent and has one of the better shots in this league. He would bring an element to our team we’re desperately lacking and that’s a clear cut sniper, on a team that is pass happy 24/7. We also have one of the best up and coming playmakers in the game who is paired with another pass happy winger but is doing his best to score goals this year and is actually leading the team doing so. The fact of the matter is that you can only pray for a combo that would bring Jack’s vision with Laine’s deadly release. Does he have a perfect 200 foot game, absolutely not but that’s why you have 3 forwards who can bring different aspects to a line, making it a well balanced line.

The kid started his career scoring goals like it was no big deal, got demoted for whatever reason, traded to Columbus where Torts tried to change his game when he was drafted 2nd overall to score goals, had Max Domi as his #1 center and his father just passed away.

I understand we view hockey players or pro athletes in a different light but at the end of the day, they’re human being just like you and I and having to deal with all of that can be challenging and evidently, it was for him. With that said, he’s playing really well this year despite the fact he has average players around him and most of his points are being scored at even strength. He already has the same amount of pts he had last year, in 21 less games played, with roughly the same roster!

This notion that we’d be acquiring the new version of Michael Ryder is flawed and borderline ludicrous. If we can land the trigger man Jack desperately needs to get the best out of him, for Mercer and Tatar (to balance out the books more then anything else), I’m pulling the trigger on that deal without thinking twice. That doesn’t take away the fact that we still need players who will win board battles and go hard to the net, as I’ve been asking for just that for 2 years now.

To me, the perfect line would be that hard nose player we both want, Jack and Laine. We can then pair Bratt with Nico and slide Holtz on the right side on our 2nd line. Now that would be a solid top #6 with a "grinder", playmaker and sniper on each line. I mean, we drafted Alex Holtz so he can do just that and yes, he’s posting up good numbers in Utica but he’s far from a lock to be anywhere close to what Patrick has already proven at the NHL level.

Laine talk ends once you bring up Mercer imo...Every team would want Mercer not the same with Laine....He's overpriced for what he brings.

 

[Buck Dancer]

I'm sticking to my guns here -- Mercer is worth as much in the win/loss column now as Laine. In two years it won't be close -- Mercer will be light years ahead. You want to talk about Laine needing more talent? Mercer is playing with linemates like Kuokkanen and Johnsson -- guys not close to the level of whomever Laine is being thrown out there with. We saw what Mercer could do with a talent like Bratt on his line. And he's just 20 and playing center with a 200-foot game which makes one think he could be a future Selke candidate. This trade idea isn't just bad. It's simply abominable.

This makes absolutely no sense, sorry! Dawson Mercer, today, isn’t close to being worth what Patrick Laine would bring to this team. We are lacking a pure sniper, which isn’t Mercer’s game at all. Don’t get me wrong, we have one heck of a prospect in Dawson… but let’s not get carried away here.

Wasn’t it you who said that big fast wingers who can wire the puck can still fetch a pretty penny, even if we’re talking about a struggling player like Pavel Zacha? You said we could possibly get a 1st round pick if my memory serves me right, for a guy who’s been "average" to say the least. If I’m going based off your standards, Laine should be breaking the bank because he’s light years better then Zacha in every facet of the game offensively and they’re equally serviceable defensively, which isn’t helping Zacha’s case by the way.

I know you love prospects but Dawson Mercer will never be able to accomplish what Laine has done so far in the league and that’s ok, because he doesn’t play the game that way. With that said, we desperately need what Laine brings more so then what Mercer brings because we kind of already have that in Nico Hischier.

What we need diversity and talent that compliments the skill set of our star players, not stack more of the same. I’d say the same thing if we had two players that are comparable to Hughes, Bratt or Hamilton. That’s what building is team is all about and it’s no wonder our PP has been anemic for the past couple of years, since we’re trying to pass the puck in the net because we don’t have any legit snipers.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Mercer is just scratching the surface.....How do you ignore the decline in Laine.....If you trade for him you have to sign him long term for big money....Keep in mind he wants to play on the west coast....He will be an anchor like he became in Winnipeg and Columbus all buyer beware warning signs....Mercer will be type of teammate that no one on team wants to lose unlike Laine

 

[Buck Dancer]

Mercer is just scratching the surface.....How do you ignore the decline in Laine.....If you trade for him you have to sign him long term for big money....Keep in mind he wants to play on the west coast....He will be an anchor like he became in Winnipeg and Columbus all buyer beware warning signs....Mercer will be type of teammate that no one on team wants to lose unlike Laine

Decline? He’s close to being a PPG winger with very limited help in Columbus, so I don’t know how you can come up with a word like decline. Is Bratt on the decline because he’s averaging about the same pace while playing with Jack Hughes.

By the way, Patrick already equaled last years point total when playing for the Jackets… in 21 less games! I think the word you were looking for is "bounce back", which would be more appropriate.

If the contract aspect of it doesn’t work, you don’t just hand Columbus Dawson Mercer on a silver platter, that wouldn’t make sense but I just thought that part was a given.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Decline? He’s close to being a PPG winger with very limited help in Columbus, so I don’t know how you can come up with a word like decline. Is Bratt on the decline because he’s averaging about the same pace while playing with Jack Hughes.

He already equaled last years point total… in 21 less games! I think the word you were looking for is "bounce back", which would be more appropriate.

Look at how young he is and if he is this dynamic player you say he is ....why is he now heading towards his third team at such a young age...Points do not tell you everything...Overall play and effort and teamwork have to come into play....Columbus got fleeced in that trade by the Jets....

 

[Buck Dancer]

Look at how young he is and if he is this dynamic player you say he is ....why is he now heading towards his third team at such a young age...Points do not tell you everything...Overall play and effort and teamwork have to come into play....Columbus got fleeced in that trade by the Jets....

He asked for a trade and was dumped on a team that saw all their star players fled the scene as soon as they hit free agency, in the middle of Ohio. I don’t think it’s shocking to anyone that he’s looking for a better situation, better linemates that fits his style of play and probably a nicer city but I can’t talk about Columbus in a bad way, since I’ve never been there. Having said that, one can probably assume that players would rather be in NJ, who’s a fart away from NYC, over the wonderful state of Ohio.

In regards to him bouncing around, I’m not comparing the style of play of both players but Panarin also played for his 3rd team in what was his 5th year in the league and that doesn’t make him a bad player or person because of it. Sometimes, it’s just a set of circumstances that leads to players/people bouncing around from team/companies to team.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

He asked for a trade and was dumped on a team that saw all their star players fled the scene as soon as they hit free agency, in the middle of Ohio. I don’t think it’s shocking to anyone that he’s looking for a better situation, better linemates that fits his style of play and probably a nicer city but I can’t talk about Columbus in a bad way, since I’ve never been there. Having said that, one can probably assume that players would rather be in NJ, who’s a fart away from NYC, over the wonderful state of Ohio.

In regards to him bouncing around, I’m not comparing the style of play of both players but Panarin also played for his 3rd team in what was his 5th year in the league and that doesn’t make him a bad player or person because of it. Sometimes, it’s just a set of circumstances that leads to players/people bouncing around from team/companies to team.

You cannot overlook that history and make a 7 to 9 million dollar mistake because of it....Holtz is cost controlled and can be that sniper we need...Devils need to stick to the rebuild...No team in this league would trade Mercer...Also in regards to Hischier you don't trade centers for wingers.....

 

[Buck Dancer]

You cannot overlook that history and make a 7 to 9 million dollar mistake because of it....Holtz is cost controlled and can be that sniper we need...Devils need to stick to the rebuild...No team in this league would trade Mercer...Also in regards to Hischier you don't trade centers for wingers.....

That’s great, we can just continue to spin our wheels with what we have, since it’s been working so well for us in the last 5 to 6 years and hope Holtz can single-handedly fix our issues in regards to adding a sniping forward to a cast of pass happy guys. God forbid we had two snipers on our team.

As for not trading a center for a winger, it’s a silly statement to make in my opinion. You trade players to make your team better, regardless of positions. That should be our only goal right now… making this team better and adding a sniper is almost at the top of Fitz grocery list for this summer.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Laine is only worth what he’s making if he scores at the near generational rate he did in his first 2 seasons. If he’s just a 30 goal guy, he is poor value. He’s a very weird player. He is anemic defensively and doesn’t even drive play offensively.

 

[Buck Dancer]

Laine is only worth what he’s making if he scores at the near generational rate he did in his first 2 seasons. If he’s just a 30 goal guy, he is poor value. He’s a very weird player. He is anemic defensively and doesn’t even drive play offensively.

He would single-handedly solve a lot of issues on our PP, which has been one of our achilles heel for the past couple of years. I mean I saw this place melting down in games where we couldn’t closed things out on the PP, laid an egg, and handed 2 points to the opposition because of anemic PP.

Watching Hughes setup glorious chances to guys who can’t finish over and over again, since stepping foot in the league, has been nothing short of frustrating and now that we might have a golden opportunity to add one of the best pure goal scorers in the game… we’re worried about his defensive game?

Every single player in the league has their flaws, even Connor McJesus. Looking at what he can’t do instead of looking at what he can bring to the team is weird to me because he can fix so many issues with the skill set he brings to the table and the downfall would be what exactly, that’s he’s not Jay Pandolfo/John Madden away from the puck?

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

He would single-handedly solve a lot of issues on our PP, which has been one of our achilles heel for the past couple of years. I mean I saw this place melting down in games where we couldn’t closed things out on the PP, laid an egg, and handed 2 points to the opposition because of anemic PP.

Watching Hughes setup glorious chances to guys who can’t finish over and over again, since stepping foot in the league, has been nothing short of frustrating and now that we might have a golden opportunity to add one of the best pure goal scorers in the game… we’re worried about his defensive game?

I’m not sure how good he is on the PP anymore. He has 0 PP goals this year and just 12 over his last 138 games since 2019.

I don’t really care about defense if you are dynamic on the other end of the ice, but he really isn’t. He can score from far away but he needs to do it at a very high rate to be worth what he’ll get paid.

 

[Buck Dancer]

I’m not sure how good he is on the PP anymore. He has 0 PP goals this year and just 12 over his last 138 games since 2019.

I don’t really care about defense if you are dynamic on the other end of the ice, but he really isn’t. He can score from far away but he needs to do it at a very high rate to be worth what he’ll get paid.

Well that’s a plus for everyone who seems to hold weight that even strength production is way better then production on the PP, no?

We also have to look at context. The Jackets don’t have a legit playmaker and I don’t know how anyone can’t be somewhat tickled by the possibility of having a pure goal scorer alongside Jack Hughes. We’ve seen this kid set up golden opportunities after golden opportunities that weren’t buried because our guys weren’t skilled enough.

His shot alone would open up so much space for Jack to do his thing and our PP would have 2 legit threats in Laine on the side wall and Hamilton up top. We’ve seen what Jack can do with a guy who likes to shoot the puck and I understand that the USNTDP isn’t the same thing as the NHL but he and Caufield steamrolled the competition because their talents meshed with one another. Laine could be that and then some alongside Jack and I’d even take it a step further by saying that Hughes is a much better playmaker then Scheiffle and Patrick was averaging exactly 40 goals in his first 2 seasons alongside him.

 

[JrFischer54]

I just think there’s better, safer, and/or cheaper options than Laine.
Tatar wasn’t really an experiment either tbh. Just a risk free way of hopefully plugging a hole temporarily.

Another word for better safer is more expensive not cheaper. In fact it’s the total opposite. When you have question marks concerns contract issue the price is cheaper. When you have better and more safer contracts the price is more expensive

 

[JrFischer54]

If holtz is legit having a 1-2 punch or Laine and holtz will be like having the top two lines in 2000.

 

[JrFischer54]

I would deal nico for a signed long term laine even swap. Not lose any sleep over it need a legit goal scorer and unless another can be had for Nico straight up then I would take him. Jack needs legit nhl talent on his wing so I don’t know who else you guys think is out that but goal scoring talent is hard and expensive to find. 10000000% so if the devils win the draft lotto do I make the Nico deal

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I’m willing to believe that models don’t accurately measure the impact that Laine’s shot has. But this man has the 4th worst expected goal share in the entire NHL since 2019 (minimum 1000 minutes for forwards). Worse than Cody Eakin, Jay Beagle, Luke Glendening, Kevin Rooney…This is the guy you want to trade Nico for and likely give him 8+ million dollars a year. Okay.

 

[Triumph]

Players like Patrik Laine are fun as hell to watch. Love these guys. Don't want one on my team, sadly.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

I would deal nico for a signed long term laine even swap. Not lose any sleep over it need a legit goal scorer and unless another can be had for Nico straight up then I would take him. Jack needs legit nhl talent on his wing so I don’t know who else you guys think is out that but goal scoring talent is hard and expensive to find. 10000000% so if the devils win the draft lotto do I make the Nico deal

Yeah trading Dubois really worked for Columbus as they are now focused on drafting centers trying to replace what they lost....Oh yeah and trying to dump Laine to a third team..,,

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Another word for better safer is more expensive not cheaper. In fact it’s the total opposite. When you have question marks concerns contract issue the price is cheaper. When you have better and more safer contracts the price is more expensive

Not in Laine’s case. I’m not saying a better player either necessarily. Laine is extremely talented and is going to get paid for that talent. However I think he’s a player that comes with a lot of risk and I think there’s a very strong chance he’s exactly the kind of player who starts coasting and doesn’t keep his level of play up once he gets his big contract. He’s also extremely one-dimensional. I’d rather go for a Fiala, or Boeser who aren’t as talented but I think will be cheaper, are safer and will fit into this team very well.

 

[Buck Dancer]

Yeah trading Dubois really worked for Columbus as they are now focused on drafting centers trying to replace what they lost....Oh yeah and trying to dump Laine to a third team..,,

Ignoring the fact that he wanted out of Columbus is pushing facts aside to fit a false narrative. I don’t know how they could’ve gotten a better return then a guy who was averaging 40 goals in his rookie and sophomore season.

 

[Buck Dancer]

I’m willing to believe that models don’t accurately measure the impact that Laine’s shot has. But this man has the 4th worst expected goal share in the entire NHL since 2019 (minimum 1000 minutes for forwards). Worse than Cody Eakin, Jay Beagle, Luke Glendening, Kevin Rooney…This is the guy you want to trade Nico for and likely give him 8+ million dollars a year. Okay.

What does your model say for a guy averaging a hair under a PPG this year, on a team with no playmakers to fit his style of play?

I’m sure Eakin, Beagle, Glendenning, Rooney and the gang would all be averaging the same kind of stats, right?