CBJ is NEVER dealing Laine. They didn't go get JG to move Laine.
Give me Ryan Murray as third pair LD over DeHaan all day. Probably get him 1 x $1.75

Never say never. Jones was evidence Jarmo would do it. Plus, it’s not 2019 with Panarin and Bob, CBJ are going to get a few cracks over the next seven years.

Plus, Laine isn’t signing that - he’s at a $7.5M QO right now. If a team put that contract on the table, and I’m his agent, I’m telling Laine to take the QO and walk to UFA.

And NYI need to add. If Laine is being traded, CBJ are getting Dobson or Barzal coming our way. Which means we aren’t really a fit for trading partners.

Why does Dallas need Varlamov? They already have Otter, Wedgewood and Dobby for goalies, and have close to no cap room. They certainly don’t have the cap space for a 5 million dollar backup (not a backup, just that he’d play behind Oettinger).

At this point I’m more worried about a Laine offersheet.

Eh, the universe of teams that could OS him is relatively small, unless someone wants to go above $10.5M AAV (which, if that’s the case, have him). I could only see ANA or SEA doing it. And I mean, if those two teams want to give us a Top 5-10 pick in the 2023 draft (and much more)? By all means.

I can’t imagine “you wouldn’t clear cap for Gaudreau but you’d OS Laine?” Would go down well on Long Island.

All of this. Anything short of the four first-rounders tier of picks likely gets a match from Jarmo.

IMO, for every dollar above $9M he wants, I’m more likely to let him walk. Gaudreau just signed for $9.7M, and Forsberg for $8.5M. I get both players are older, so Laine can say he still can push his ceiling; but, I still think both those guys are better than him (JG definitely, Forsberg? We’ll see). If Laine signs for an amount that cannot be cap-solved with a Nyquist trade, I’m not happy.

Sometimes, the best contracts are the ones you don’t sign. It’s why the Jones trade felt like a win on two fronts.

The Islanders wouldn’t have to give CBJ anything but a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Just offer sheet Laine at $9 mil a year for 7 years like they were about to give Gaudreau. Don’t have to give any players at that point. Could probably get away with a little less and then you really put CBJ to the fire.

The Jackets have over $11 mil in cap space just from trading Nyquist. Matching $9 mil is a cakewalk for them.

Clearly it’s not a cake walk or they would have signed him already. Either way it puts CBJ into a decision that they don’t want to make right now. You don’t get him oh well but there’s a chance they let him walk.

It's taking time because Jarmo isn't just taking the easy cap dump option of Nyquist. There are ways to keep him, Voracek and sign Laine. There are so many possibilities to approach the cap situation and they could potentially even bring in a significant addition on defense still. That being said, in the highly unlikely event that he signed an offer sheet then that triggers the cakewalk scenario where they trade a pick and Nyquist to someone with cap space and match anything up to $11.4 mil AAV. If anyone wants to make things difficult on Columbus to re-sign him they'd have to go to $11.5+ mil.

Bottom line is that Columbus needs to make moves to even sign Laine to his QO. The Islanders can force their hand and possibly just outright sign him if CBJ are unsure. Worth the chance.

In a vacuum, sure. He still would have to sign the offer sheet and everything about the reality of the situation says he has zero intention of leaving Columbus or trying to max out how much money he's going to get. The guy *loves* where he's playing and wants to help set them up to win.

Nope. $9M a year is two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd. And remember - losing the picks isn’t just a risk of giving up a high-end draft pick - it is also one less asset you have to acquire pieces you need to win.

Anything below $9M is largely doable by CBJ. You’re “putting us to the fire” over about $2M-$3M. We aren’t Vegas. Importantly, Laine didn’t file for arbitration, which indicates negotiations are in a good place.

The next lower tier ($~6.3M - ~$8.4M) is exactly where we want Laine. So please, do OS him in that range. You would be doing us a favor. Laine has also been adamant about 4-6 years re: term, which CBJ are in agreement with. He’s young, the cap is flat, and he has room to grow; signing for a 7-8 year term carries a risk of leaving money on the table. Sign for 4 or 5 years, get another bite at the apple when im 27-29 to sign a long term, big money contract. Particularly because, if I’m Laine, I know sharing a line with Gaudreau is going to do wonders for my stat-line.

And, again, if NYI’s response to Gaudreau was “we don’t have the cap room to sign him,” why in the **** would you then turn around and OS Laine for anything near him? You’re putting CBJ to the fire to, what, only throw yourself into it headfirst?