from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

So, here goes our best guesses for hockey in 2022.

Patrik Laine gets traded, again
Hard to believe Laine will still be only 23 years old when the Columbus Blue Jackets season likely comes to its conclusion.

The electric (if inconsistent) winger has been the source of a captivating 44-goal campaign, a blockbuster trade, and more bursts of on-ice highlights and off-ice drama than we can count.

Despite the Finnish sniper’s hot start this fall (10 points in 10 games) — a fine rebound from his dismal 2020-21 — injury and the tragic death of his father, Harri, at age 54 have halted both his and the Jackets’ bid for playoff contention.

Laine accepted a hefty qualifying offer last summer (one year at $7.5 million), but he’ll again be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in the summer of 2022.

GM Jarmo Kekäläinen cannot run the risk of inking Laine to another one-year deal and effectively walking an elite talent to unrestricted free agency shortly after he turns 25.

So, does Laine want to commit long-term to an organization that has been shedding assets for futures and clearly needs several more pieces to contend?

We doubt it.

two more predictions (Montreal wins the draft and Tampa wins again)...