The most highly touted free agent still on the market is Patrik Laine. The former second overall pick is still on the open market, with less than a month before the start of training camp. But several teams are interested in his services. Bleacher Report recently listed eight teams that would be a good landing spot for Laine. One of the teams that did not make the list was the St. Louis Blues. This news should be music to every Blues fan's ears. But why is it best to stay away from Laine?  Â
Patrik Laine is not worth the risk for the Blues.Â
Laine is coming off the worst season in his 10-year NHL career. He only suited up in five games for the Canadiens last season. Part of the reason was due to core muscle surgery, but he was cleared to play before the trade deadline. The Canadiens just decided not to play him and left him off the playoff roster. Injuries are nothing new for Laine, as he has played in under 20 games in two of the last three seasons.Â
Now, injuries are not the only red flag for Laine. His abilities as a scorer have plummeted over the last few seasons. The last time he recorded over 50 points in a season was in 2022-23 with the Blue Jackets. Since then, he has logged 26 goals and 17 assists for 43 points in 75 games. While injuries have played a role in his production decline, it is clear that Laine has lost some of his explosiveness. You can not expect him to be a top-six winger anymore.Â
He is no longer the goal-scoring threat that he was at the beginning of his career. According to NHL Edge, his hardest shot has dropped from 101.53 mph in 2021-22 down to between 87-90 these past two seasons. It has gone from one of the fastest in the league to around league average. This drop in speed is a big reason his point production has dropped. With that hard shot gone, it makes a bounce-back season even more unlikely.Â
The Blues are also not in a position to bring in a reclamation project like Laine. Sure, their rebuilding/re-tooling teams always bring in a couple of guys who are struggling. But in order to fix Laine, you need to give him as much ice time as possible. This means a top six spot, taking that opportunity away from someone like Jake Neighbours, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Connor McMichael. This will be much worse than whatever Laine could give you.    Â
While it would be fun to see Laine put on a Blues jersey, the juice is not worth the squeeze. The best thing they can do is focus on developing their young players and not bring in potentially washed players.
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