Laine is stuck in an unimaginable goal drought right now. Considering he posted 18G (I think) in November alone, I'm absolutely shocked that he's still sitting on only 25G at this point in the season. He's even been dropped from the #1 PP unit...also unthinkable. So where does this leave his potential contract negotiations? Back in November I'd have said 8 years for $11.5M. Now, I'm thinking 5 years at around $9M AAV. He's definitely lost a lot of negotiating power over the course of this season. After last season I truly believed that Laine and Matthews were going to sign similar contracts despite the fact that Matthews is a Center and Laine a Winger. Now, I'd be very surprised if Laine broke the $10M barrier, but things could still change in Laine's favor if he steps up in the playoffs. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

It would be in Laine's best interest to sign a bridge deal. A two-year deal around $5-6 million would have him expiring as an RFA right when Byfuglien, Lowry, and Perrault come off the books, and Winnipeg likely should have enough cap space to sign him to a big extension if he has shown to improve his all-around play and establish some consistency. Signing him to big bucks right now would make it even more difficult to sign their other RFAs like Connor, Brossoit, and Trouba. Although who knows if Trouba is even going to want to sign a long-term deal with Winnipeg.

I think a bridge deal would be a great idea! I just think the AAV will be closer to around $8M. Some other team will offer sheet Laine at the $5M level for sure. But I def. hear you on the shorter term deal. It makes a lot of sense for both parties, especially if Laine's struggles continue into the postseason. If he puts up monster numbers in the playoffs, which he didn't do last year, he could be looking at a long term deal. And what about Connor? Where does he fit in to the cap? His numbers have been pretty similar to Laine's so far this season w/ 22G and 44 points, albeit spread out consistently. Laine has 25G and only 36 points, but most of that was done earlier in the season. Laine is about a year and a half younger, too. I'd value Connor around $5.5M on a 5-6 year deal, similar to Ehlers.