San Jose Sharks
Speculation: Does Patrik Laine to the Sharks Make Sense?

What does Winnipeg want for Patrik Laine?
While it’s considered a “longshot” that the Jets would trade a 22-year-old winger who’s scored 138 goals in his first four NHL seasons, insiders from Pierre LeBrun to Elliotte Friedman are taking the rumor seriously.
Per Friedman on Saturday, “I just think everybody’s looking at the situation and saying, what if our way to solve the problem is, can we use Patrik Laine to find a No. 2 center or a right-hand shot defenceman?”
The problem for the Peg? Laine will be an RFA after next year. Is he a player that you want to give franchise money to? Or should you trade him now and get maximum value?
Enter: The San Jose Sharks?
I caution that this is pure speculation on my part — we talked about it during this morning’s podcast at the 11-minute mark. There’s lots of Laine chatter out there, but I haven’t seen or heard San Jose talked about, while LeBrun offered up Columbus or Carolina as sensible destinations last Thursday.
But the Sharks actually have pieces that should appeal to the Jets.
Looking over Winnipeg, it appears that they want to win now but with reasonably-priced cost-certain players (doesn’t everybody). They’re loaded with a deep group of forwards in or around their primes and the incumbent Vezina Trophy winner. They could use support up the middle after Mark Scheifele and elite help on the blueline.
Meanwhile, in terms of pure talent — let’s take age and contract out of the equation for the moment — centers Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture, right-handed defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson should be appealing to the Jets.
Of course, age and especially cap hit can’t be ignored in the salary cap era. Are any of these contracts at all appealing?
Age | Contract Years Remaining | Cap Hit | |
---|---|---|---|
Tomas Hertl | 26 | 2 | 5.625 |
Logan Couture | 31 | 7 | 8 |
Brent Burns | 35 | 5 | 8 |
Erik Karlsson | 30 | 7 | 11.5 |
Any reasonable offer for Laine would have to begin with Hertl, I think. Great contract, in his prime, and can play in any situation. And though he becomes a UFA just one year after Laine’s current deal expires, Hertl should come in at a lower number than Laine. Pure goal scorers, even those who are somewhat one-dimensional like Laine is, usually make more money than well-rounded forwards like Hertl.
So we can skip Couture to the back-end. Karlsson and Burns, of course, share the same problem: They’re 30-plus and have long, undesirable contracts. On the other hand, they also offer the same allure: They were absolutely world-class game-changers not that long ago.
We also have to note: Karlsson has a No Movement Clause, while Burns has a three-team Trade Clause, meaning there are three teams of his choice that the Sharks can trade him too. We’re obviously assuming that they would be open to a move to Manitoba. This is just a reminder that this is all speculation about a hypothetical.
Anyway, I’ve talked with scouts who believe Burns’s contract is more tradeable than Karlsson’s. So let’s add him to the package.
That said, Burns’s age and money remaining can’t be all that appealing. So is Hertl and Burns for Laine dead before take-off?
The San Jose Sharks have one more card to play in this hypothetical: They can offer to retain up to 50 percent of Burns’s salary and cap hit.
So let’s say the Sharks offer to retain 25 percent ($2 million cap hit) of Burns’s contract. That’s a five-year commitment in a who-knows-how-long flat cap era — it’s not to be taken lightly.
Hertl, Burns, and 25 percent of Burns’s contract retained for Laine — I actually think that makes Winnipeg better, at least for a couple years, but it doesn’t necessarily make San Jose better right now. On the other hand, it’s a dicey long-term play for the Jets unless Burns takes a page out of Zdeno Chara’s book and produces into 40.
That’s two good-to-great players out the door for one admittedly potential superstar sniper — that’s a lot for a San Jose Sharks squad which probably has too many holes in the line-up to create more. For the Jets, they can probably get a better offer, not necessarily in terms of talent, but younger players with more appealing contracts.
A mock trade I could see working is: Burns, Labanc, Tampa’s first, and the Sharks second for Laine. I think the value is fairly even considering Winipeg gets a top pairing right handed defenseman, a cheaper replacement for Laine in Labanc, as well as draft capital they can use to either restock their prospect pool or use to trade for a the second line center they desire. I can’t see the Sharks moving Hertl unless it’s for a franchise center considering he’s both a fan favourite and would leave a massive gap down the middle for the Sharks.
I don’t think that’s enough for Jets, maybe if Burns was 30 instead of 35. In that case, maybe a one-for-one works there.
That’s basically two seconds and a non-star winger and a 35-year-old d-man for Laine. But anyway, I understand Hertl’s value to SJS, not advocating trading him at all, just trying to examine a fair trade for both sides. Gaping hole for SJS up the middle if Hertl leaves in hypothetical deal tells you as I wrote, they would have trouble affording to make such a trade, even if value is appropriate.
I would personally want to see Ehlers more than Laine. Better play driver, old linemate of Meier’s, cheaper to trade for. Although of course , trading Ehlers doesn’t really solve jets’ problems .
I’m not a sjs fan but after watching every Jets game over two seasons you don’t want Laine. Yes he has out up goal and yes when he’s in he’s on but when he isn’t it is bad. He looks slow on his feet and his urgency to get off the ice at the right time is just gross
It’s a fair point that Laine has his questions — otherwise, WPG would be moving heaven and earth to keep him, instead of listening on him. That said, the talent is there to be a guaranteed 40-goal a year guy and he’s just 22. If you believe he can find that consistency — and not everybody does, of course — you gotta think hard about it.
Burns and the 2020 (TBL) & 2021 (SJS) 1sts, 2021 3rd, and a depth player for Laine?
Then, maybe WPG use the TBL 1st to get Ryan or Dylan Strome, or Max Domi, to fill out that 2C?
Idk… Stranger things have happened.
That’s same offer as above, Jets can do better
Hertl when healthy can put up 30+ goals
I wouldnt trade him for a winger. I’d much rather trade couture n ferraro to get laine and a draft pick
WPG isn’t going to take Couture’s contract & Ferraro, while talented, isn’t an elite upgrade to blueline. Burns, while old and flawed, at least has potential to be massive upgrade