‘Chevy’ shifting Laine? Stay tuned

Opinion

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This article was published 05/10/2020 (1800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kevin Cheveldayoff was given a golden opportunity Monday to pour water over the notion he’s looking to give Patrik Laine a one-way ticket out of town. Instead, the Winnipeg Jets general manager ended up stoking the flames that are threatening to turn into a five-alarm inferno around these parts.  

When asked about ongoing rumblings that the Jets are currently shopping the goal-scoring winger’s services in exchange for much-needed help on the blue line and up the middle, Cheveldayoff revealed plenty with his reply. 

“These type of situations, when you’re having conversations with other teams and other managers, I think you have to be able to have free-flowing conversations in order to fully discuss and digest wants, desires and needs from every team. As a manager, you’re always open to listening,” Cheveldayoff said in a Zoom availability where the Laine saga took precedent over this week’s draft and free agent frenzy. 

“Obviously there’s a certain level of, I guess, conversation regarding every player on any team at any point in time,” he added.

“It’s just the way the game is, with respect to looking at all your different options. I think that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re looking at trying to improve a team. There’s certain things that are behind closed doors that are between manager and manager. I’m not privy to give out those kinds of conversations, but I think in an industry like pro sports, there’s always gonna be conversations of names of players that, for one reason or another, get brought up.”

Translation: no, we haven’t moved Laine yet. But stay tuned.

Look, it’s silly to chalk this up to the kind of usual business dealings that happen with every player. It’s why you’re not hearing the names of Jets players such as Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele or Josh Morrissey in the rumour mill.

Sure, another GM could call and ask about the Jets’ top goaltender, centre and defenceman. But Cheveldayoff would hang up in a heartbeat, laughing hysterically.

Not so with Laine, the 22-year-old Finnish sniper he picked second-overall in the 2016 draft, courtesy of a fortuitous ping-pong ball bouncing the team’s way months earlier.

Why is that?

There’s no doubt Laine, who often wears his emotions on his sleeve, isn’t pleased with his role on the club. At no point has there ever been talk about trying to find a centre to play with captain Blake Wheeler. And yet that storyline continues to play out with regards to a fit with Laine, who has seen no shortage of potential suitors while mostly stuck on the second line.

Sure, he gets time on the top power-play unit, but Wheeler’s precision passes are rather predictable at this point and became much easier to defend this season. And so Laine kept auditioning at five-on-five with the likes of Bryan Little (before he was injured), Wheeler (when he moved to centre for a couple months), Andrew Copp and Cody Eakin. This, after previous trades brought in the likes of Paul Stastny and Kevin Hayes, who departed as fast as they arrived.

Laine, the team’s best pure scorer, should be playing with Scheifele, the Jets’ best all-around player, at this point in his career.

Wheeler, now 34, is likely better suited as a second-liner at this stage.

It’s a frustrating situation for Laine, no doubt. But that alone wouldn’t justify moving him.

No, this is more about dollars and cents, rather than what some may view as a lack of common sense from Jets head coach Paul Maurice. Specifically, the belief Laine might just price himself off the roster or want to take his talents elsewhere, especially if he continues to develop a more well-rounded game, as he showed signs of this season.

To which I say: What’s the rush? Cross that bridge if, and when, you get there, especially with the league’s financial landscape and future salary cap very much in question due to COVID-19. 

Trading Laine at this point is fraught with risk, especially if you’re looking at multiple pieces back in return.

The team that gets the best player in a deal usually wins, and a cheaper-by-the-dozen approach often backfires.

For a painful local example that is starting to feel eerily similar, may I remind you of Teemu Selanne to the Anaheim Ducks (back when they were still Mighty) for Chad Kilger, Oleg Tverdovsky and a draft pick that ended up being Per-Anton Lundstrom, who never made it to the NHL. 

The Jets still have Laine and his 138 regular-season goals under control for at least three more years (one more season at a reasonable US$6.75 million, followed by two years of restricted free agency where he is arbitration eligible). The focus should be building around him and the rest of the core to keep the championship window as wide open as possible.

As much as some may try to compare it, this is not Jacob Trouba 2.0. The former Jets defenceman was one year from walking as an unrestricted free agent when Cheveldayoff pulled the trigger on his trade to the New York Rangers in the summer of 2019.

No, you can’t let Laine get to that point, but we’re not even close to being there.  At this stage, he’s not part of your problem. He’s part of your solution. Unless you’re getting a superstar centre such as Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres as the return, I have trouble envisioning how moving Laine will make the Jets a better team now, which should be the priority.  

Want to do something bold to fix your team?

Trade the 10th-overall pick in tonight’s draft. That has plenty of value, could get you a handsome return, and will improve your roster today without taking anything off it.

“Every team has needs, every team has wants, every team has holes, every team has different financial situations with respect to the cap. Teams that everybody thinks obviously must be interested in this player or this player or this player, sometimes those teams don’t even make a phone call. It’s the nature of the industry that everybody gets talked about,” Cheveldayoff said. 

Yes, the Jets have holes. But moving one of the best scorers in the league, whose best years are likely still ahead of him, might lead to a crater.

Not to mention the sour taste I suspect would be left in the mouths of an extremely loyal fan base. Laine is unquestionably a local favourite, and sending him packing would be a gut punch for many. 

It would be one thing if Cheveldayoff was just listening. But it’s clear there’s more to this. Where there’s smoke, there definitely is fire.  

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg