Recently, the new head of hockey operations for the Blue Jackets openly mentioned that he would be willing to retain part of Laine's salary to facilitate a trade.
It can be inferred that Kent Hughes does not want to fully absorb Laine's hefty $8.7 million salary.
«Perhaps we'll end up retaining part of his salary. If I wanted to retain half of his salary, I would have already traded him, but that's not my first choice.»
- Don Waddell
This indicates that there is an opportunity for the Blue Jackets. There have also been rumors suggesting that the Minnesota Wild might be interested as well.
Waddell would also like to acquire an NHL player in return. Potential candidates from the Canadiens could include Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, or Jake Evans, along with draft picks, of course.
This is a situation to watch closely in the coming days or weeks. Some reports suggest that Patrik Laine's situation could become clearer very soon.
