Just days after reports surfaced about Patrik Laine blocking a trade to an Eastern Conference team, a Western Conference team has now been linked to a vetoed move by the former Columbus Blue Jackets forward.
According to La Velle E. Neal III of The Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin confirmed that Laine blocked a trade to the Wild before being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens this summer.
The report clarifies that the trade didn’t fall through due to Minnesota’s offer being inferior to Montreal’s, but rather because Laine was not interested in joining the Wild.
Laine, who is entering the third year of a four-year contract with an $8.7 million annual salary, ultimately chose Montreal, paving the way for the trade that made him a Canadiens player for the 2024-25 season.
It’s notable that Montreal had the cap space to absorb Laine’s sizable contract without requiring Columbus to retain any salary, whereas Minnesota would have struggled to fit the deal financially without making additional moves.
This revelation follows reports by BPM Sports’ Renaud Lavoie that Laine blocked a trade, along with Maxime Truman’s claim that he also turned down a move to the Philadelphia Flyers.
With the Wild and Flyers now out of the picture, Laine is set to join Montreal’s promising young core, featuring Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield.
The former No. 2 overall pick is coming off a challenging regular season, where he was limited to just 18 games, tallying 6 goals and 9 points.
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