Insider Links Big Market, Legit Suitor To UFA Patrik Laine

The Patrik Laine free agency might have more juice to it than may believe. The guy does have seven 20-goal seasons in his 10-year career. This year was a write-off, with only five games played in October before he went down to injury and never returned to the Montreal Canadiens lineup. 

We already looked at six teams that insiders have linked to the 28-year-old UFA, but yet another good fit has emerged, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. 

Could Patrik Laine take his game to Los Angeles? I believe that's a spot he'd have interest in, and the Kings were in talks to acquire him from Montreal ahead of the trade deadline. Picking him up on a low AAV, bonus-laden deal could work for both parties.

Laine is coming off an $8.7 million cap hit on his expired four-year contract. He won't come anywhere close to that this time around. AFP Analytics projects the Finnish forward to land only an $850,000 AAV on a one-year deal. After missing nearly the entire season in two of the last three years, and playing just 52 games for Montreal in the 2024-25 season, Laine will have to take a 'prove it' deal of this kind to show that he can stay healthy and help a team for a full season before he gets his paycheck back up into the millions. 

In those 52 games, however, last season, he did find the net 20 times. He's always maintained a strong shooting percentage, so there's a chance he could still help a team starving for offense. 

And that's where the Kings come in. 

LA finished fourth from the bottom in the NHL in goals per game this past season, and now they've lost Anze Kopitar to retirement as well. They'll have Artemi Panarin for a full season, but more is needed. Perhaps Pagnotta's suggestion gains some traction.