The Montreal Canadiens are one of the most exciting teams on the rise in all of hockey.
A brief three-year rebuild has seen the storied franchise accumulate draft picks that are now in place as young stars on the roster, ready to take the next step after returning to the playoffs last season.
General manager Kent Hughes has been extremely aggressive in adding around his core group in the process, which included acquiring a disgruntled Patrik Laine from Columbus last summer.
Laine's time in Montreal has been very up and down thus far, much like the majority of his NHL career, and because of that, Caleb Kerney of Heavy Sports is pitching a trade that would see the Canadiens move on from the goal-scoring winger. The proposed deal sends Laine back to the Blue Jackets in exchange for young forward Yegor Chinakhov in what would be a one-for-one swap.
Canadiens receive: Yegor Chinakhov
Blue Jackets receive: Patrik Laine
"This trade proposal would be a big deal for both teams. The Canadiens add a young winger who plays sound defensively, while the Blue Jackets can offer Laine a fresh start to facilitate a bounce-back season," Kerney said.
"By adding Chinakhov, 24, the Canadiens receive a 6-foot-1, 203 lb forward. The Blue Jackets’ 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft recorded 15 points in 30 games last year. In return, the Blue Jackets add Laine. The 6-foot-4, 208 lb forward was initially selected 2nd overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2016. The 27-year-old recorded 33 points in an injury-shortened 52-game season last year," Kerney added.
The aforementioned Laine just began the fourth and final season of the four-year, $34.8 million contract extension he originally signed with the Blue Jackets back in 2022.
Laine's limited role
With lots of depth up and down the lineup, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has difficult decisions to make when constructing his forward group, and Patrik Laine was a part of that on Wednesday night.
The Finnish sniper began on the fourth line during their season-opening loss in Toronto, playing very limited minutes, which resulted in the second-lowest total ice time of any Canadiens forward.
Even in that time, things didn't go well for Laine, who had a -2 rating, took a first-period hooking penalty, and was held to just one shot on goal.
Patrik Laine has had trouble finding a home and a good fit no matter where he's been thus far in his career, and if he continues to be used like this moving forward in Montreal, then his future might land him somewhere else sooner rather than later.