Laine trade finally happens (no, he’s not coming to the Flyers)

Flyers

Laine trade finally happens (no, he’s not coming to the Flyers)

If any Flyers fans were still clinging to the Patrik Laine-to-Philly dream, they can let go.

The dream officially ended Saturday as the Jets traded Laine and Jack Roslovic to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2020 third-round draft pick. Winnipeg will retain 26 percent of Laine’s salary in the deal.

Laine, a 22-year-old goal-scoring star, had been rumored to be traded going back to September. At one point, the Flyers did have interest in Laine, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia in December. Just how serious that interest was is unknown. In early October, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Flyers and Jets had trade discussions about Laine but the talks cooled.

Landing Laine would have required serious sacrifices from the Flyers, who then would have had another challenge in re-signing him to a new deal. Laine already has a $6.75 million cap hit and is set to become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in the offseason.

According to another report by LeBrun, the Flyers were one of many teams to inquire about Dubois, a 22-year-old forward who was taken third overall in the 2016 draft. Chuck Fletcher is a general manager who will always check in and do his due diligence.

In a normal regular season, the Flyers would have been set to play Laine and the Blue Jackets four times. Instead, they won’t see them at all in the 2020-21 regular season with the Flyers playing in the realigned East Division and Columbus in the realigned Central Division.

For those in the Delaware Valley that might have been crossing their fingers for Laine, they can at least take solace in that.

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