A marksman may be on the market.
One of the NHL’s true snipers, Patrik Laine, is expected to be in play this offseason as the Winnipeg Jets explore avenues to fill holes on their blueline and down the middle.
The mere mention of Laine joining TSN’s first Trade Bait board of the fall is enough to trigger wounds that still haven’t healed for Winnipeggers of a certain generation from the 1996 trade of the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne.
One of the great goal scorers of all time, Selanne collected 147 goals in three and a half seasons as a Jet.
The Jets’ 2.0 version of the Flash, fellow Finn Laine has 138 goals through four seasons, tied for seventh most across the NHL since he entered the league as an 18-year-old.
By no means is Laine a lock to be traded. Free agency will be one road for the Jets to attempt to fill the crater left by Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba and Ben Chiarot on the backend since last offseason.
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Selanne was dealt for defenceman Oleg Tverdovsky and forward Chad Kilger, who was the No. 4 overall pick from the previous draft. Selanne went on to post five more seasons of at least 50 goals.