Price may have to change for Blue Jackets to trade Patrik Laine

Laine has been working towards a return to play in the NHL which has been granted and has exited the NHLPA players assistance program. It became evident that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Laine felt a change of scenery was needed and that both will part ways prior to the season.

But even the desire for change must warrant a trade and it seems that general managers are either out of money, feel that their rosters are sufficient or have little interest in bringing Laine into their roster.

One stumbling block that could be preventing a trade is his contract size as he holds an $8.7 million cap hit for the next two seasons and it's likely the Blue Jackets will need to retain some salary to make a deal work.

His best season of his career was in 2017-2018 when he played all 82 games for the Winnipeg Jets, scoring 44 goals with 26 assists for 70 points and was a + 8 along with 24 penalty minutes.

Ever since those numbers, he has been unpredictable in terms of production and quite inconsistent. Injuries have played a factor with these issues but at $8.7 million per season teams would like to have more consistency from the 26-year-old.

Perhaps something may change and he will be on his way to another market.

Source : NHL.com