Canadiens will need to pay a big price if they want to acquire Laine
According to Aaron Portzline of the Athletic, the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking for a trade partner for their forward, Patrik Laine.
He had mentioned that the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes were both teams to watch. However, he also mentioned that the Montreal Canadiens should not be overlooked as a strong trade partner.
They are an organization on the rise that has the core pieces in place and will be looking to start adding talented forwards via trades and free agency.
Portzline talked about how the Blue Jackets GM, Don Waddell, wants to add a player back in exchange for parting ways with Laine.
However, in a contradictory report, Portzline also mentions that Waddell may be willing to take back draft picks in return.
Nevertheless, the Canadiens are a team that has both young players and draft picks that could be useful to the Blue Jackets to help them with their on-the-fly retool.
The Canadiens have 12 total draft picks in 2025, including two first-round and second-round picks and three in the third round.
Along with their deep prospect pool, which is highlighted by a plethora of defense prospects (Jayden Struble, William Trudeau, and Jordan Harris) and forward prospects (Owen Beck).
The Canadiens have $7.9 million in cap space, and Laine's cap hit is $8.7 million. This means that the Blue Jackets will likely need to retain somewhere around 25-33% of Laine's cap hit to make the money work.
Credit: Habs Fanatic
Blue Jackets demand key Canadiens player in trade for Patrik Laine
| POLL | ||
Should the Canadiens pay the asking price to acquire Patrik Laine? | ||
| Yes | 38 | 34.5 % |
| No | 72 | 65.5 % |
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