Why would CBJ do that? They aren’t getting anything special to give up Laine AND trade back a spot.

Columbus might consider this given that it frees up a lot of money for the next 2 years for them and gives them a young, serviceable 3rd or 4th pairing defenseman. Not saying they will do it, but I could see the advantage to CBJ, especially if they have multiple guys they like in the draft, then moving down 1 spot for over $17M in savings is not the worst thing in the world.

To be clear, as a Habs fan, I do not think that trading for Laine is a good thing at all. Too much money to pay and too much uncertainty about what he will produce.

There is absolutely no way Columbus considers this. They will not get nothing for Laine, even though it's going to be less than we Columbus fans hope for.