Breaking: Maple Leafs Considering Deal To Sign $8.7 Million Elite Scorer

The Toronto Maple Leafs should consider the Jake McCabe trade as an example of how to obtain Laine.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should consider acquiring Patrick Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may employ Laine, an expensive contract player, to compensate for the loss of Mitch Marner if they decide to move him (which they should not).Even if they keep Marner, they should consider acquiring Laine.

The former second overall pick in 2016 (behind Auston Matthews) is looking for a fresh start after having the worst season of his career and spending time in the NHL’s Player Assistance Program.

Laine is 26 and has an $8.7 million cap-hit for the next two seasons.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Trade for Patrik Laine

Laine is an excellent scorer, with his best season of 44 goals coming in 2018.

The former Jets great is a prime candidate for a comeback season and the type of distressed asset that any savvy team should be shopping for.

In the NHL, you rarely have the opportunity to add a franchise-level player unless that guy is not performing to his potential. The scarcity of such players makes it intriguing when one becomes available.

The Blue Jackets are unlikely to get much for Laine, and the most they can hope for is to either ship him away to avoid paying the money owed or to absorb half of the budget hit in order to obtain something decent in return.

Here’s where the Leafs come in. If the Leafs were clever, they would try to work with a third team to get him double-retained. Consider signing Patrik Laine for the Jake McCabe Deal, which offers two years for less than half the price.

We’re certainly dreaming here, but the NHL has complete parity and teams need every advantage they can get. Someone with Laine’s talent and lack of previous success is an ideal candidate for a team to buy low in the hopes of hitting a home run.

Laine hasn’t lived up to his deal in several years, and the team that controls his rights can’t expect anything in return.

The Leafs are a top offensive team that consistently struggles to score when it matters most. You have to believe that adding the best pure shooters in the world will appeal to them.

Getting Laine on his entire deal is a high-risk venture. Once you’ve paid him, made place for him, and paid to get him, he’ll have to live up to his old reputation to make it profitable, which is too risky.

However, if you pay the expense of bringing him into the lineup for less than $3 million while also retaining him with a third team, you suddenly have one of the finest team-friendly bargains in the game.