Four Sportsnet staff writers, Sonny Sachdeva, Mike Johnston, Emily Sadler and Rory Boylen, share some of their thoughts on the trade landscape one month out, from teams to watch, big names of interest, and one long shot deal we can hope to see, just for the fun of it....

Emily Sadler

One long-shot deal I’m watching for on deadline day: Patrick Kane

This could never happen... right?

Last summer's roster moves didn't exactly scream rebuild, but this season's performance sure has. This team should be headed towards a complete overhaul, in many senses, and parting with a franchise cornerstone like Kane — while extremely unlikely — would bring back quite a return to start building back up.

Kane will be a free agent in the summer of 2023... what if he glimpses the direction of the club under the incoming GM and doesn't like what he sees...?

Rory Boylen

One long-shot deal I’m watching for on deadline day: Patrik Laine

Back at the end of January I wrote about the difficult decision Columbus was going to face on Laine this season. He was in the middle of a second straight campaign struggling to produce for the Blue Jackets since being traded from Winnipeg, and was looking at arbitration again this summer and one more year until being a UFA. Signing him for big money and term with shaky recent production was risky, but so too was the idea of slow playing his contract, or dealing him away at 23 years old with still so much potential.

In the eight games he's played since, Laine has 10 goals and, finally, has broken out of the slump. If this continues the contract discussion will become much easier to accept because we're seeing something again. We're talking long shot trades here, though, so what if Laine's hot streak inspires a huge, Pierre-Luc Dubois-like offer, and Columbus decides to move on from him anyway? We can dream for such theatre.

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