Patrik Laine: “Does the Habs really need another maverick?”

So far, the number of major trades in the off-season is not as high as expected.

Martin Necas and Rutger McGroarty are still with their respective teams. The same is true of Patrik Laine, who has also been linked to the Habs on a number of occasions.

But Laine in Montreal doesn’t make sense. At least, that’s what Frank Seravalli thinks. In his podcast The DFO Rundown, he wonders if the Habs really need another maverick.

And he names Juraj Slafkovsky as an example, but not Cole Caufield, which is curious.

The small forward is much more recognized as a natural scorer than Slaf… But apart from his two players, Montreal doesn’t necessarily have too many mavericks. Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki and Alex Newhook are all good players, but let’s just say that scoring goals isn’t their greatest asset…

I find Seravalli’s comments, therefore, very curious, because personally, I think Montreal needs a guy like Laine or Tyler Toffoli (guys who can score 25-30 goals consistently), for example.

The big problem with the Finn is not only his mental state, but also his physical state. He’s recovering from a shoulder injury that was supposed to be minor, but is much more serious than anticipated. It’s strange that he’s still bothered by the injury, so Seravalli thinks the guy will be very difficult to trade.

The Jackets are currently negotiating from a position of weakness, and other teams are probably very keen to see if the 26-year-old winger can play without too much difficulty.

“If a team acquires him before the season starts, that’s great for Columbus.” And at this point, Seravalli doesn’t expect Laine to be worth anything. He even spoke of a mutual parting agreement between the two camps.

But obviously, the striker has no interest in coughing up the $18.2 million remaining on his contract…

In short, the journalist named two destinations that would make sense for the player: the Hurricanes, who have room under the salary cap, and the Rangers, who have a little less.