Trade Idea: Patrik Laine Dealt to the Florida Panthers

The Winnipeg Jets have been talking trade for several months, and the bulk of the chatter appears to be surrounding young sniper, Patrik Laine.

Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic brought us the news that Laine preferred a new situation where he could get substantial minutes on a teams' top-line. With no expectation Jets' head coach Paul Maurice is going to play Laine with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, there's a chance he gets traded before the season starts. 

Here's one deal to consider:

Winnipeg Jets trade Patrik Laine to the Florida Panthers for Aaron Ekblad

If the Winnipeg Jets move on from Laine, it will only be for a cornerstone type of player in return. They won't be trading a 22-year-old 40-goal scorer for hope, they will want established talent. Ekblad would give the Jets a top-2 defenseman to pair with Josh Morrissey and give the Jets some nice depth on the right-side of their defense, to go along with Neil Pionk and Dylan DeMelo. 

Ekblad is under contract for the next five years at $7.5 million and doesn't hold any no-trade protection. Last season the Windsor, Ontario native had a career high 41 points in 67 games. 

For the Panthers, they would be receiving one of the best young snipers in the game would who look unreal lining up alongside his friend Aleksander Barkov for the next 10 years. The Panthers recently signed Anthony Duclair and acquired Patric Hornqvist earlier this offseason, however, they are still thin on their right-wing. 

If the Winnipeg Jets move Patrik Laine, expect it to be for a 'win-now' type of player who will immediately help their lineup on a nightly basis. Aaron Ekblad would help and we'll see if this trade idea manifests into reality for both clubs. 

Photo credit: Terrence Lee/Icon Sportswire