Report: Patrik Laine not expected to file for arbitration

Estimated read time 3 min read


The Blue Jackets have had a huge offseason so far, with the signings of Johnny Gaudreau
and
Erik Gudbranson drawing particular attention. Now that free agency has settled, the focus in Columbus has shifted to the situation with restricted free agent winger Patrik Laine

The 24-year-old forward is two years away from unrestricted free agency and has the option to file for arbitration, take two (likely expensive) arbitration awards and then hit free agency in 2024.

Columbus has a history of talented forwards leaving in free agency (Artemi Panarin sticks out as a recent example) so it makes sense that the Columbus market would be watching the Laine situation intensely with the hope that history doesn’t repeat itself. In this case, Blue Jackets fans have reason to exhale. Laine and his representatives, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, will not be filing for arbitration before the 5 p.m. deadline Sunday.

That’s major news, as it’s a confirmation that both the Blue Jackets and Laine are earnestly committed to finding a contract solution that keeps Laine in Columbus long-term. Laine has played 101 games as a Blue Jacket and has an impressive 36 goals and 77 points, including 26 goals and 56 points in just 56 games in 2021-22. Laine has one of the best shots in hockey and has terrorized goaltenders ever since he made his debut as a rookie in Winnipeg.

Before the arrival of Gaudreau, Laine was one of the few stars on the Blue Jackets’ roster, perhaps the only other elite talent on the team besides defenseman Zach Werenski. With Gaudreau in the fold now, Laine has the opportunity to be part of an exciting team in Columbus that has the potential to be the most offensively gifted lineup in team history. 

Portzline states that negotiations between Laine’s agent, Andy Scott, and the team remain “amicable,” and it seems that Laine does have an interest in being part of that high-potential future in Columbus.

Nothing is a guarantee in the NHL, and negotiations can always go sideways. But avoiding arbitration is an important first step towards getting Laine locked-up long-term in Columbus. The deal he gets isn’t likely to rise higher than the $9.75M AAV Gaudreau is earning, but a modest raise from Laine’s current $7.5M cap hit would not be unreasonable.

The Blue Jackets don’t actually have a ton of cap room to get a Laine extension done, oddly enough, as CapFriendly projects the team has $2.3M in current cap space, which definitely would make any Laine extension a very tight squeeze. Columbus may need to move a contract in order to have enough room to get Laine’s deal done, and the contracts of Gustav Nyquist and Jakub Voracek could be their best options to move in order to get that space. With that being said, though, in today’s cap-strapped world, clearing space is as difficult and pricey as it’s ever been.





Source link

You May Also Like

More From Author