Free-Agent Patrik Laine To Sign With 1 of 4 Teams
Patrik Laine continues to be the biggest wild-card available on the free-agent market. Yes, he's going to have to settle for a one-year contract loaded with incentives, but that doesn't mean there's not plenty of interest in the former No.2 overall pick.
Laine is reportedly discussing contract terms with a number of teams, including the Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, and New York Islanders. There's a lot of unknown to Laine's game as he only played a handful of games last season, and certainly turned some heads after the year, stating he was healthy back in January, and it was the Montreal Canadiens who decided not in re-insert him back into the lineup.
Laine's career has been a little bit of a whirlwind to this point, as he's bounced around from the Winnipeg Jets, to the Columbus Blue Jackets, to then spending parts of two seasons in Montreal. Laine's appeared in 537 career regular season games, scoring 224 goals, and 422 points. He's also posted 17 points in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
As far as the destinations go, the Kraken have been doing whatever they can to land some more talent up front. They tried to sign-and-trade for Jason Robertson out of Dallas, but the Stars winger decided to turn down the deal. The Kraken also got denied last season when they tried to trade for Artemi Panarin, before he was eventually dealt to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Sabres new management regime know Laine very well from their days in Columbus, so you can likely consider them the frontrunners for now. Losing Alex Tuch has left a giant hole at right wing in Buffalo.
The Islanders are certainly in the mix and need some more firepower up front. With just $3 million in cap space to work with, they've been trying to move Anthony Duclair and Alexander Romanov in trade talks.
As for the Jets, they've kicked tires on a Laine reunion, but to this point, feel like the dark horse of the four teams linked. Don't be surprised to see Laine end up in Buffalo before the start of next season.
