NHL Rumors: Islanders and Blue Jackets Discussed Blockbuster Trade

According to James Nichols of The Fourth Period, the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets were in touch last offseason regarding a trade involving Patrik Laine. 

The Islanders have been looking for a prolific scorer for a few years now and Laine certainly fits the bill, given his age, contract status and history of production. He's been away at times this season dealing with the unfortunate death of his father but has managed to score 10 points in nine games, including seven goals. Last season after a slow start, the Finnish winger ended the season with 21 points in 45 games. Make sense the Islanders were trying to buy low on his services.

Laine is making $6.75 million on the cap this season and is a pending restricted free agent. He's likely to sign a multi-year deal next summer, hovering around the $7 million per season mark. The Islanders only have just over $13 million in cap space for 2022, so they would certainly need to get creative to make the numbers work.

As for what they were willing to give up, that's not public knowledge as Lou Lamoriello keeps everything normally very close to his chest. Given the Jackets lost Seth Jones, perhaps they were interested in one of the Islanders young defensemen or Anthony Beauvillier who is under contract for the next two seasons at $4.1 million.

Keep an eye on these two teams as the Islanders are trying to make moves to turn their season around, meanwhile the Blue Jackets are in fine shape and will only be interested in moves if they make their team better immediately.

Photo credit:  Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports