Report: One Team That Will NOT Pursue a Patrik Laine Trade

Patrik Laine's future is still up in the air, as the Columbus Blue Jackets are willing to grant him his wish to be traded, but only for the right price. According to a report by Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun, the Jets will most likely not be pursuing a reunion with Laine at his current $8.7 million cap hit.

I just don’t see the fit.
The risk is very high, and even if Columbus retained half, the Jets don’t have the cap space to make it work without shipping out someone.

And on top of the cap issues, Billeck says he simply doesn't see where Laine fits on this team.

"Winnipeg’s top six is more or less set at the moment," he writes, "with Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi, Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers and one of Brad Lambert or Vladislav Namestnikov."

Of course, they could make room for their former 40-goal scorer by shipping out one of those players, and we've been hearing trade rumors on Ehlers throughout the offseason, as he has just one year remaining on his deal and an extension seemingly a big question mark. He's still on everyone's list as one of the top trade candidates around the league.

Billeck isn't buying it.

"I’m told there’s constant contact between (Ehlers') camp and the Jets this summer, then where’s the fit? (New head coach Scott) Arniel likes Ehlers, too, and one would think their analytics summit is going to show his value to the organization if utilized properly".

So unless someone else is moved out, the likelihood of Laine returning to the team where he starred for four seasons isn't looking good.

"It’s a nice story. I get it," says Billeck. "I’m just not convinced there’s a happy ending (for Laine) in Winnipeg."