I wouldn't worry to much about the current state of Laine's play. In every business situation , I always say - "what's the worse that could happen." ?? The absolute worst with Laine, is that he scores you 38 - 50 goals per year, and is just "a goal scorer" with a flawed game, that's incomplete at the moment. Not to bad at the worst situation. If he does score 50 goals, likely he'd only have 35 assists -total= 85 points. He's not that good a playmaker like Wheeler is, for example.
At the best he develops his game, gains strength as he ages, and becomes an all around player, who can score as well. This is what we ideally all hope to be the case.
In order to determine that, you need a lot of experience with people, and judging their characters, and also their physical potential and then make a decision. I believe it took Mckinnon from Colorado 4-5 years to come into his own, and same with Sceifele. This obviously means you need foresight and a whole lot of patience. I also think these big bodied players take longer to grow into their bodies.
This can be a very big advantage to the Jets right now for Laine, as he won't command the kind of money it's suggested that he wants --like $ 9-10 mil per year. Maybe because of his bad play, you can get him on a long term deal, at a great price, the same that was done with Scheifele ??
OR
The other option is you trade him for a guy like Duchene or Stone, or someone of that calibre, that will score close to what you "hope" that Laine will. Guys like Duchene will put up about 90 to 100 points per year -- so what would you lose with them ?? You "might" lose a little if Laine becomes a 120 point a year player, and I rather doubt that, and if he does --your only down 20 points or so. It's really a good problem to have, if you handle it right, and I think Chevy will.
