TaketheCannoli
RIP
Yeah, I don't know either. If the rumors were accurate, Winnipeg's ask may have eliminated a lot of contenders, teams that would the greatest futures for a sniper like Laine. The problem with a sniping wing is he is going to be a complimentary piece. Hell you could argue even Selanne in his prime was a complimentary piece.Consider that a little over a year ago Cheveldayoff had Laine on the trade market for months and couldn't find a taker, and then when Jarmo, a GM from Laine's hometown, had to make PLD available, Jarmo still said no to a 1 for 1 deal.
Laine followed that up with a sub-replacement season. He just wasn't in the right physical/mental space to be playing pro hockey. Torts played a role, but either way, Laine's value was through the floor. His play on the ice last year wasn't worth a thing so you would have needed GMs to pick up the $7.5m QO tab solely on the hope of future development. That already rules out a lot of win-now teams. I'm sure there were plenty of teams trying to exit their rebuilds - NJ, LA, etc.. that still would have wanted Laine, but my guess is that it was at a price less than half of what it is now.
To be clear, that is a guess. We haven't had any reporting on the caliber of the offers Jarmo was getting.
Then PLD wanted out and voila, someone could offer a 2 way 1/2 C. It's like Pierre saw a ticket to Winterpeg and wanted out
Imagine Laine's worth if he had been on the Panarin/Duchene/Bob Blue Jackets. Another sniper and this team might have easily dispatched the Bruins and the Islanders.