Eyes On Isles
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New York Islanders Trade Target Patrik Laine Not Worth Top Dollar

By Michel Anderson

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - APRIL 11: Patrik Laine #29 of the Winnipeg Jets warms up prior to Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild on April 11, 2018 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jason Halstead /Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - APRIL 11: Patrik Laine #29 of the Winnipeg Jets warms up prior to Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild on April 11, 2018 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jason Halstead /Getty Images) /
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Attention has fallen on Winnipeg Jets RFA Patrik Laine to fix the New York Islanders top-six woes. But based on his market value there’s no way he gets moved.

Patrik Laine wasn’t exactly jumping through hoops to tell people he wants to stay with the Winnipeg Jets. That fueled New York Islanders fans to wonder if the former 40-goal scorer could be had.

Sure, Laine seems about as excited to sign a contract extension with the Winnipeg Jets as anyone who has to travel to Winnipeg. But with the year that Laine had, he doesn’t deserve a monster contract. And with the $17 million in cap space the Jets have, there’s no reason give up on Laine.

Meaning our daydreams of Mathew Barzal feeding pucks to Patrik Laine is nothing more than a dream.

Bad Year

Laine put up 50 points last season with 30 goals and 20 assists. That sounds like an alright year for any player. But for Laine, that’s a sub-par year. In his rookie year, he scored 36 goals and had 64 points. His sophomore year he scored 44 goals and had 70 points.

Patrik Laine has been an outstanding player in the NHL. He came into the league and made us all think that the next Alex Ovechkin had graced us. But that’s before the 2018-19 season.

He finished the 2018-19 season with a 9.88 ixG at 5on5, ranking him 181st for players who played at least 500 minutes. For a guy who’s supposed to be Alex Ovechkin 2.0, that’s not great. Laine’s bread-and-butter is scoring goals, and he wasn’t even in the top 100 at 5on5.

(Note: Alex Ovechkin finished 16th for 5on5 ixG in 2018-19.)

Laine still managed to score 30 goals though. That must count for something, right? According to Evolving-Hockey, Laine held a 0.2 WAR rating. That means, technically, Laine brings a hair more wins above replacement level.

Again, it wasn’t a great season for Patrik Laine.

Sure, only five players have scored more goals than Laine since he started in the NHL. But if he isn’t helping to add wins he isn’t going to get the payday he thinks he deserves.

Look, if Brock Boeser, a player who’s scoring at a 0.83 points-per-game pace since he came into the league thinks he’s worth $7 million per year and had a 1.6 WAR and a 10.68 ixG (ranked 143rd) in 2018-19 Patrik Laine is worth less than that.

(Note: Laine is scoring at a 0.78 points-per-game since entering the league.)

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Patrik Laine isn’t worth a price tag that would make Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and his $17 million in cap space stress. The only way Cheveldayoff is going to let Patrik Laine go is if he gets an incredible trade offer. Something I just don’t see the New York Islanders doing at the moment.

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