A massive trade went down in the NHL on Monday, as multiple reports indicated the Montreal Canadiens acquired Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
A massive trade went down in the NHL on Monday, as multiple reports indicated the Montreal Canadiens acquired Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On paper, the trade should benefit all parties.
While the Blue Jackets shed $7.3 million in cap space and bring in a young defenseman as they once again hit restart on their rebuild, the Canadiens bolstered their roster with a former second-overall pick with an elite-quality shot.
Most importantly, Laine gets a fresh start on his career after spending much of last season in the NHLPA player assistance program for treating his mental health.
It’s not just those involved in the trade who are benefitting from Laine joining the Canadiens, as the Boston Bruins are indirectly reaping the reward of the deal made by one of their top rivals.
Prior to acquiring Laine, Montreal was one of only a handful of teams capable of placing an offer sheet on Bruins restricted free-agent goalie Jeremy Swayman. Now, the Canadiens no longer can afford to do so.
Based on what other top players at his position make, Swayman is expected to sign a contract somewhere in the range of $7.75 million to as much as $10 million per season. After taking on Laine’s salary, the Canadiens are a projected $2 million over the NHL’s salary cap, according to Puckpedia, effectively taking themselves out of the Swayman sweepstakes.
It’s not as if the Bruins had much to worry about in the first place, though.
Teams rarely place offer sheets on restricted free agents because doing so can often lead to retribution down the line.
Montreal learned this firsthand in 2019 when they could only watch as Jesperi Kotkeniemi joined the Carolina Hurricanes on an offer sheet they couldn’t match after they tried to place one on Carolina star Sebastian Aho the year prior.
Any team that attempts to place one on Swayman now risks the Bruins doing the same. But even then, most of the teams that are still theoretically capable of handing Swayman an offer sheet have one thing or another standing in their way.
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The Detroit Red Wings have ample cap space, but they’ll likely need to use most of it to sign their own restricted free agents, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. The same can be said of the Seattle Kraken, who are trying to reach an agreement with Matthew Beniers.
As for the Philadelphia Flyers, they have the exact opposite problem while tight on funds.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Nashville Predators, and Utah Hockey Club all look comfortable with their situations in goal heading into the upcoming season.
Now, you may be wondering where this leaves Columbus. Surely, after trading away Laine, they have the money to make a run at Swayman.
Correct. They do.
However, a team not only needs to be financially able to afford an offer sheet but must also have the necessary draft capital.
When a team places an offer sheet on a player, they must compensate the player’s former team with draft picks based on the contract’s average annual value. Without a second-round pick in next year’s draft, the Blue Jackets can’t afford the minimum of what it would take to sign Swayman.
Now, Columbus owns its next four first-round selections, allowing them to place an offer sheet on Swayman that’s north of $10.7 million per season, which would be impossible for the Bruins match. But there isn’t much sense in surrendering those picks for a team that isn’t going to be in contention any time soon.
Regardless, Swayman seems to have little desire to play anywhere but Boston.
“I love it here, and that’s all that I can control,” Swayman said on Sunday after competing in the Columbia Threadneedle Investments Boston Triathlon.
“I know it’s a business, and it’s unfortunate at times. But I know I’m going to be playing hockey at the end of the day, and I really hope it’s with the Boston Bruins.”
Swayman had little options otherwise, and now, with Laine in Montreal, he has even fewer.
