Anaheim Ducks Should be All In on Patrik Laine
On February 6th, 1996 the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim made a trade that would change the course of their history forever, and now, in 2019, 23 years later, the Anaheim Ducks have a chance to do it again… And they should
When you picture a Mt. Rushmore of Anaheim Ducks players I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a single person who wouldn’t include Teemu Selanne on it, he holds the records for most points in franchise history, most goals in franchise history, most goals, and most points in a season in franchise history. But Selanne didn’t start out as a Duck, he was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets and spent 3 1/2 seasons with them before being traded to the Ducks. Selanne came into the league like a man possessed, scoring a staggering 76 goals and finishing with 132 points in his rookie campaign, considered by many to be the best rookie campaign in league history. Following that rookie campaign, Selanne was still a very effective player, but his production slowed down a bit, he had an injury as well as a lockout-shortened season, Selanne found himself unable to replicate his storybook rookie season, but that certainly doesn’t mean he was not useful, he still managed over a point per game in the following 2 seasons but big picture he was not able to match his rookie numbers in both seasons combined. The following season Selanne had a bit of a rebound season, putting up 72 points in 51 games (the most he had during any season since his rookie year) before being traded to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
Once being traded Selanne found his groove again, posting 50 goal seasons in each of his first two for the Mighty Ducks and putting up 107 points in his 3rd. Selanne had a long journey for the remainder of his career, playing for a few other teams but never for very long and he kept finding his way back to Anaheim. Finishing his career playing 15 seasons for the Ducks with 457 goals for the Ducks and 988 points in a Ducks uniform. So what does this have to do with anything? Well, Selanne’s beginning to his NHL career is quite similar to that of another Finnish forward, who is considered the best Finnish goal scorer since Selanne, Patrik Laine, and there are talks that his time in Winnipeg might be coming to an end just like the Finnish Flash’s did in 1996.
Patrick Laine was one of the most gawked over prospects in recent memory, drawing comparisons to Selanne, and Alexander Ovechkin as the next big thing as a goal scorer. it ultimately led to him becoming the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 entry draft, to the Winnipeg Jets, the same franchise where Teemu Selanne began his NHL career (although Selanne was drafted 10th overall as opposed to 2nd overall like Laine). Laine was living up to the hype out of the gate, managing to put up a 36 goal season in his rookie year, keeping pace with Auston Matthews (who will forever be linked to him as the player taken 1st overall in the same draft year) finishing with 64 points a mere 5 points fewer than Matthews (despite playing 9 fewer games). Laine was considered the next big thing in Winnipeg and was drawing more comparisons to Selanne by the game, with a buttery smooth shot and soft hands to go with it Laine was mentioned several times as a “surefire future 50 goal scorer” by more than one analyst.
The next season was even better for Laine as he increased both his goals and points, potting 44 goals and 70 points and following it up with 12 points in the playoffs. Laine then entered the 2018-19 season and things got a bit strange, Laine began going weeks at a time disappearing, his minutes began to shrink and he was even moved off the top power-play unit, a head-scratching move for one of the best shooters in the game, but at the same time the Winnipeg Jets were stacked at forward with several high impact players so it’s understandable that Laine during an inconsistent season, with the Jets having Stanley Cup aspirations, wasn’t given the keys to the franchise. Laine still finished with 30 goals, but only 50 points during an up-and-down season for the forward who just turned 21 less than 2 months ago.
Laine finds himself a pending restricted free agent, Winnipeg doesn’t seem to be willing to back up the Brinks truck to him just yet, and there have been reports recently that Laine may not exactly want to be in Winnipeg long term. So we have a young goal scorer who had meteoric expectations for the Winnipeg Jets following a strong rookie campaign leading to the player not quite living up to expectations (sound familiar?) add in the fact that the Jets are in a position where they have probably the most roster holes in the entire league to fill this off-season and the Ducks could have the chance to make lightning strike twice.
The cost to acquire Patrik Laine would be very substantial and he does require a new contract but for a potential 50 goal scorer with three 30 goal campaigns by his 21st birthday and you’re looking at a trade that you should be all-in on. (The Ducks would also probably have some interest in Jacob Trouba a fellow Jet who’s future is in limbo and requires a contract but as much as I’d love for a blockbuster trade resulting in the Ducks acquiring both Trouba and Laine for a jaw-dropping return likely involving first-round picks, prospects, and roster players, I don’t live that far into fantasy land)
One thing to remember is that Laine is an RFA, meaning if he and the Jets don’t agree to a new contract by July 1st Laine is open to offer-sheets, the compensation for which is outlined in this tweet.
While it’s possible that someone goes all out and offers Laine an offer of over 10.5 Million a season, I think it’s unlikely and it’s more likely that if it got to an offer sheet the highest he’d fall into would be the next tier above which is $8,454,872-$10,568,589 a season and requires compensation of 2 1st round picks, a 2nd round pick and a 3rd round pick. A hefty price for certain and one that I think will lead to teams being wary of giving enough to hit that tier.
The ideal outcome, if an extension is not likely to come, would be for the Jets to trade him before July 1st, and the team acquiring him to sign him before free agency opens. The Jets get influence in the return at that point. Were the Ducks able to offer a significant package of cost-controlled players and a couple of picks I think it’s entirely possible for a deal to get done.
Something like this offer would be a good starting point and might be able to be massaged into something workable.
The Jets get two effective players back as well as a 1st round pick this season (they don’t currently have one) as well as a 2nd round pick next season. Max Jones is an intriguing prospect who has shown flashes of brilliance for the Ducks, and Ritchie is on a value contract for the next two years, which is invaluable to a team like the Jets who have so many holes to fill and a lot of decision making to make.
While it’s certainly a long shot and would be highly out of character for Murray to make such a huge trade, it’s one that I would love to see. What do you guys think, would you like to see Patrik Laine wearing the black, gold and orange? How about Jacob Trouba? Would you like to see my proposal to get both big fishes out of Winnipeg? Let me know below or on Twitter or Facebook!
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