Columbus Blue Jackets: Patrik Laine should be top trade target

Patrik Laine is someone the Columbus Blue Jackets should be looking to add.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. For the second straight postseason, this helped them overcome a talented offensive squad. This year, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs. But for the second straight postseason, the Blue Jackets couldn’t score enough to advance more than one round.

According to Scott Burnside of The Athletic, adding at least one impact forward is their top offseason priority. It should come as no surprise that the Blue Jackets are looking to upgrade on offense. Columbus finished 28th in the NHL in goals scored during the 2019-20 season.

To be fair, any team that loses Artemi Panarin is going to be worse off. But the fact remains that the Blue Jackets haven’t come close to replacing what he brings to the table. If Columbus wants to improve, they’re going to have to find guys who can make an impact.

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The Blue Jackets need goal scorers and the best one available is Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets. According to 1st Ohio Battery, the Blue Jackets have expressed interest in him. Laine is a dynamic player, much like Panarin. He’s a bit different, but he scores goals better than just about everyone else.

Since entering the league in 2016-17, Laine ranks 15th among forwards in even strength goals (86), third in power play goals (52), and ninth in overall goals (138). Keep in mind he’s still extremely young at just 22 years old.

Laine, as noted by TSN’s Travis Yost, is also an underrated passer. His passing hasn’t resulted in many assists, but he still helps generate scoring chances for his teammates.

Now, Laine is a pretty flawed player. He’s a bit of a one-trick pony. Granted, that one trick is scoring goals, which is pretty darn valuable because you need to score goals to win games.

However, Laine’s defense remains a huge issue. He ranks quite low in just about every defensive underlying stat since the 2017-18 season. Laine made some small improvements this season, but still ranked pretty low.

That said, let’s provide some context for those numbers. The Jets have been one of the NHL’s worst defensive teams over the past three seasons. Their team has lacked structure and Laine’s defense has been a victim of this.

If Laine goes to a team that excels defensively, it could help him improve his underlying stats. Very few, if any, teams are better defensively than the Blue Jackets. And, as mentioned earlier, they’ve got to add some difference makers this offseason. Laine could thrive under head coach John Tortorella, who would give him some of the tough love he hasn’t been given by Paul Maurice in Winnipeg.

At the same time, Laine would give the Blue Jackets a unique offensive talent they haven’t had since Panarin. He’d make an immediate impact by helping them address their largest concern (scoring goals).

However, the Blue Jackets might not have what it takes to get him. Right now, the Jets’ asking price for Laine is understandably sky high. Elite goal scorers don’t hit the trade market too often. Usually, there’d be a long list of teams interested in him. But with many teams struggling financially due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the flat salary cap ceiling, it would be surprising to see any team be willing to pay a huge price tag to get him.

Here’s what the Blue Jackets could offer. David Savard is a quality defenseman, but for Columbus, he’s expendable. The Blue Jackets have some other options on the right side, including Markus Nutivaara and Dean Kukan, along with Andrew Peeke.

Winnipeg would love to solve their second-line center issue in a Laine trade, but the Blue Jackets probably can’t help them there. Perhaps they’d be interested in Alexander Wennberg, but I doubt that’s the case. If Laine’s price drops, the Blue Jackets should be all over him.

While the New York Islanders would also make a ton of sense for Laine, they’ve got too many internal problems to solve, most notably finding room to give Mathew Barzal, Devon Toews, and Ryan Pulock their next contracts. That leaves the Blue Jackets, who are the most likely suitor for Laine.