It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. We’re just over a month from the start of training camps in the NHL, but we’ve still got a ton to talk about. Teams are pretty quiet in the month of August, but there’s still some tinkering to done. General managers may start getting active once we start the month of September. One team that may need some help is the Minnesota Wild. This edition of NHL rumours takes a look at the team showing possible interest in a Columbus Blue Jackets forward.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Minnesota Wild Could Check on Finnish Winger
Rumour: The Athletic’s Joe Smith and Michael Russo look into the idea of Patrik Laine being acquired by the Wild.
Analysis: Minnesota does need some more firepower in the lineup to help players like Kirill Kaprizov. However, the team is still in salary cap purgatory thanks to the twin buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The Wild have to deal with nearly $15 million in dead cap space. This works out nearly 17-percent of the team’s cap.
Laine is looking for a fresh start in a new place after completing the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. New Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell will do his best to make a deal happen to help Laine.
A trade to the Wild could what Laine needs in order to get back on track. However, there are a few stumbling blocks that could prevent a trade from happening.
Road Blocks
Laine commands an $8.7 million salary cap hit and the Wild have just over $760,000 in cap space. Columbus is likely going to have to retain a good chunk of Laine’s cap hit in order to make a trade possible. Waddell can retain up to half or Laine’s cap hit in any possible trade.
Minnesota would likely have to send a player back in return to get the 26-year-old winger. However, there are a couple of options that could give the Wild enough room to make the numbers work. This is according to Blue Jackets writer Aaron Portzline.
Players like Filip Gustavsson and Frederick Gaudreau might be tossed into the package to able get the deal over the line. Gustavsson has a $3.75 million cap hit that could be taken off the books if he’s traded. Minnesota has Jesper Wallstedt waiting in the wings with a less painful cap hit over under $1 million. He could also be an upgrade in goal to what the Blue Jackets currently have.
Gaudreau makes $2.1 million and that could buy the Wild a bit more space. However, they’d likely have to move out more money to get Laine.
Would it Work?
Laine is looking to put the last couple of seasons behind him and getting to Minnesota could help. The Wild will have more space to play with after next season. Minnesota General Manager Bill Guerin did give Brock Faber a healthy raise, but he should have some more room to make things happen.
The young Finn has put up a career-high 44 goals with the Winnipeg Jets. He could still prove useful to a team when he’s healthy.
A deal is taking a while and other teams could get into the mix once the season rolls around. However, the Wild might be a team that could give a change of location to the accomplished scorer. The numbers have to make sense before a deal can happen.
