New Jersey Devils: 5 Reasons Patrik Laine Is A Possibility

Winnipeg Jets star forward Patrik Laine is reportedly exploring all options headed into restricted free agency. The New Jersey Devils should be first in line to acquire his services.

Full disclosure, for weeks I’ve been waiting for the right time to write in depth why the New Jersey Devils should make Patrik Laine a possible target this offseason. It seemed like a long shot without context, since teams just don’t let players who score 110 goals in their first three seasons play for another franchise. However, a new report shows that Patrik Laine may want to explore other options this offseason. This obviously opened the door for the pitch for the Devils.

Laine is a scoring machine. Last season went about as strangely as it could have for Laine. At the end of November, Laine was on pace for a 63-goal season. He looked like one of the best players in the league in November, when he scored 18 goals. He scored 11 goals in a four-game span, including five against the St. Louis Blues, one of the teams currently going for the Stanley Cup.

Then, he ended the year with 30 goals. So, why should the New Jersey Devils go after a player who scored one more goal than Miles Wood after December 1st?

Well, for one, you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to these goal scorers, but Laine is still one of the best. He was having trouble figuring out his role among the many talented Winnipeg Jets players. Also, the year prior he was much more consistent. He scored four goals in October 2017, which was his least. Most months he scored seven or more.

Also, he played much better in the playoffs. In the Jets first-round loss to the Blues. He scored three goals in six games. He had 12 points in the playoffs the season prior in 17 games. He’s just 21 years old, and showed he can score on the biggest stage of his career so far.

It’s clear the Devils could use a player like Laine. He’s a true first-line right wing to play with Nico Hischier and Taylor Hall. He could help give the Devils an elite first line, and allow Kyle Palmieri to play on the second line, giving Jack Hughes a scorer of his own.

Now, it may seem like there’s a lot of obstacles in the way of this deal happening, but there are reasons why it may work. Here’s five that make sense why the Devils and Laine are a perfect fit.