For many reasons, the years 2020 and 2021 were a very weird time for everyone. We were couped up at home with nowhere to go, using whatever we could as an escape. We saw August and September postseason hockey for the first time in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles, leading into a shortened and intriguing 2021 campaign.
With the offseason positioned at a new time and some realigned divisions for this 56-game season, it was a tough time to navigate. However, it didn't stop rumors from circulating. One such nugget was the Carolina Hurricanes showing interest in the Winnipeg Jets' young sniper, Patrik Laine. The Jets' rumored request was a bit of an eye-opener.
Laine, 22 at the time, was the second pick in the 2016 Draft for the Jets, and he appeared poised to become one of the purest snipers in the league. He was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 2017 after scoring 36 goals, and he upped the ante the following season with 44. He dropped back down to 30 goals in 2018-19 and 28 in 2019-20 before the pandemic.
For as productive as Laine was in Winnipeg, the relationship began to sour heading into the 2021 season. It led to rampant speculation that a trade could be on the horizon, despite Laine's insistence that he was committed to the Jets. Of course, the Hurricanes had their noses in things before the season began.
Shortly after New Year's Day 2021, rumors began to swirl that the Canes were very interested in bringing in the winger, but the Jets' reported ask in return was Martin Necas and Brett Pesce, and I hardly think that's all they wanted. Safe to say, the Canes weren't biting, and a few weeks later, Laine was part of a package, along with Jack Roslovic, for Pierre-Luc Dubois in a move to Columbus.
Since the trade, Laine has struggled to stay healthy. He put together back-to-back 20+-goal campaigns in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but he was limited to 56 and 55 games, respectively. He also entered the Player Assistance Program in 2023 for his mental health. Laine sought another trade, leading to his being moved to Montreal in 2024, where he has played 57 total games in two years.
Over the years, rumors have persisted about Laine potentially coming to Raleigh, and every time it happens, the default package of "Necas, Pesce, and a 1st" is the first thing mentioned, even if neither Martin Necas nor Brett Pesce is still on the team. It's one of my favorite running jokes among the online Caniac community.
For all of the rumors and speculation about Patrik Laine coming to the Hurricanes in 2021, what if the team pulled the trigger and got the trade done with the Jets? What does Laine bring to the team, and what would the losses of Martin Necas and Brett Pesce have meant to the Canes, especially at that time?
There are concerns about Laine's fit, especially with his defensive effort
Obviously, it's hard to ignore the amount of time that Laine missed with injuries, so we'll pretend that, outside of the occasional bumps and bruises, he remained mostly healthy with the Hurricanes. We'll also assume that this move happened before the start of the 2021 season. The trade to Columbus was completed after Laine played in Winnipeg's season opener.
The immediate reaction would be to throw Laine on the top line with fellow countrymen Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Aho and Teravainen are the franchise's highest-scoring duo, but neither of them is a true sniper. It's something that the roster was sorely missing at that time. Aho went on to lead the team in goals that season (24), and the only other to top 20 was Nino Niederreiter.
One thing that playing with Aho and Teravainen would've done is hide the glaring defensive issues that Laine has struggled with. He was famously benched by John Tortorella while in Columbus after defensive lapses in a contest against the Canes in 2021. The Blue Jackets won that game, but Laine only played a little over 11 minutes because he got into it with an assistant coach on the bench.
Assuming he kept up his scoring touch, improved his defensive game, and stayed healthy, it could've been a good situation. He played the 2021 season on an expiring deal before earning a one-year contract for the 2021-22 season. After 56 points in 56 games, Laine netted a four-year extension that largely proved to be a dud of a deal. He could've been a serious force, under the right circumstances.
Ultimately, what likely kept this deal from happening was the haul that the Jets wanted. Martin Necas was in his second full season in 2021, and he still hadn't hit his stride. Necas started showing flashes of it during the shortened campaign, finishing fifth on the team in scoring with 41 points. He experienced many ups and downs with the Canes before being part of a massive deal of his own.
Necas has reached his full potential with the Colorado Avalanche in a season and a half. He recorded his first 100-point season last year, playing a huge part in Colorado's offense with Nathan MacKinnon. I'm not sure if he'd have the same success in Winnipeg, though playing next to Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor might've pulled the same thing out of him.
Honestly, I think losing Pesce was the biggest issue. Few teams in the league boasted a better Top 4 than Slavin-Hamilton and Skjei-Pesce during their run together. Not known for his offensive game, the 2021 campaign was one of Pesce's most productive, scoring 25 points and recording his best Norris Trophy finish (16th). It would've been hard to give him up.
Inserting Pesce into Winnipeg's lineup would've been an immediate upgrade for the Jets on the right side of their defense. I think a duo of Pesce and Josh Morrissey, who was still two years away from really breaking out, could've had some solid chemistry. At worst, he's playing on Winnipeg's second pair behind Neal Pionk, similar to how he was behind Hamilton in Raleigh.
Hindsight would tell us that not trading for Laine was the right decision. The Canes might not have won the Stanley Cup with Necas or Pesce, but trading Necas was instrumental in getting a few big pieces during this recent run. I'm still rooting for Laine to get back to his old ways. He's an exceptionally talented player. Plus, he's a free agent right now, so the door might still be open.
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