Patrik Laine has permission to speak to other teams as the Columbus Blue Jackets work to facilitate a trade, general manager Don Waddell said in a new interview.
Speaking with Mark Scheig of The Hockey News, Waddell said he wants to work with Laine on finding a trade but won’t agree to a move unless it benefits the Blue Jackets.
“I’ve told his representation that we will definitely look at every deal and I’ve given him full permission to talk to teams,” Waddell said. “…just because a player wants to (be) traded, two things have to happen. You have to have a willing partner and you also have to have a deal that we both can accept and agree on. And at this time I don’t have that, so I can’t rule out any possibilities at this point.”
Laine’s name has been on the trade market for a while, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has previously reported, but those talks were put on hold when Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program on Jan. 28. The 26-year-old has also been dealing with a shoulder injury.
In the months after Laine entered the program, the Blue Jackets fired general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and head coach Pascal Vincent and hired Waddell and Dean Evason to take their places.
Laine was cleared from the program on July 26.
Waddell told Scheig that he personally has not talked to Laine yet but said Evason has. The three-time 30-goal scorer was limited to just 18 games last season and has two more seasons on his contract with an $8.7 million cap hit.
