Blue Jackets ahead Patrik Laine has been launched from the NHL/NHLPA Participant Help Program after being cleared by its docs right now, reviews Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.
The information comes amid a commerce request from Laine that’s stood since at the very least June, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on the time. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman factors out, Laine remains to be recovering from clavicle/shoulder surgical procedure that ended his 2023-24 season again in December. The Finnish winger entered the Participant Help Program about 5 weeks after sustaining the damage.
Commerce talks couldn’t progress with Laine in this system. It was broadly reported that events wished to talk with Laine earlier than buying him, which was prohibited earlier than he was cleared. Now that he’s been launched from this system, these talks with different groups can now begin. Blue Jackets normal supervisor Don Waddell declined to touch upon Laine’s clearance and future commerce talks Friday, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
Amongst potential touchdown spots for the 26-year-old, Friedman named the Kraken as a workforce to observe final month. The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith later reported the Wild had engaged in preliminary discussions for the sniper as effectively.
Laine’s quite a few accidents final season, together with an upper-body ailment, restricted him to simply six targets and three assists in 18 video games. However within the two previous years, the 2016 second-overall decide had been a pressure for Columbus, averaging practically a degree per recreation (108 in 111 GP) whereas logging an ATOI of 18:58. When wholesome, he stays a top-line winger, however the first a part of this sentence is a big caveat. He hasn’t performed greater than 60 video games in a season since earlier than the pandemic.
Even with Laine out of this system, these damage issues will stay. That’ll possible pressure Waddell to retain a stable chunk of his $8.7M cap hit in a potential commerce to make it an interesting swap for either side financially. Laine stays underneath contract by means of 2025-26 and he’ll be a UFA upon expiry. He can block a commerce to 10 groups along with his modified no-trade clause, per PuckPedia.
Exterior of the commerce discussions, it’s all the time excellent news to see a participant cleared to return to motion from this system. All of us at PHR want Laine the perfect as he continues his NHL profession.
