Nope.

It's not a horrible idea...for Pittsburgh. Columbus doesn't even consider it.

The only thing of interest is whatever we can get for Smith at TDL...and that's not a legit return for someone who has been and still is a top-6 forward.

No this is not but smith, 3rd and gruden would probably get it done or at least be pretty close

I just don't think those move the needle for Columbus. Again, Smith only has value to us as a TDL asset based on our timeline. Gruden is approaching peak, and he's a fringe NHLer at best. The 3rd...well, we've got plenty of picks/prospects of that nature. I just don't think Pittsburgh has the kind of assets Columbus would want, even if it's not far off on pure trade value.

Maybe so but like it or not there's only a handful of teams that actually have cap space and are looking to add a player to win now. Laine had value but that all went out the window this past year and his 8.7 just brings it down even more. He's not going to bring in what most jackets fans hope

The fact that he's on half the ACGM's here tells me there's plenty of interest around the league, even from teams like Chicago and Anaheim that could take the full cap hit. I think he's a $6-7M player, and Columbus would retain about $2M to bring him to that. Plenty of teams, even contenders, can afford a $6.7M top-6 winger, especially if we're taking $4-5M in salary back.

I'm not expecting a great return, but there will be plenty of offers. Every GM in the league should put a buy-low offer on a guy that could be a 40-50-90 guy when healthy in the right system. Columbus will pick the offer that's the best fit, and I guarantee it's not going to be a package of older players, C-level prospects, and mid-round picks.

It frees Columbus up a year of Laine's salary. Reilly is in his last year and 'needs a change of scenery'. And Laine has requested a trade so I'm sure COL is listening to anyone kicking the tires.

It will be interesting to see what Col can get for him. Is Laine supposed to start the year in the NHL program?

good point!

I'd assume he's supposed to exit the program over the summer, but I haven't heard or seen anything. He can't be traded until he exits the program, so if a trade happens before the season, I'm assuming it's in August or September and the picks are all 2025 or later.