Rumor: Patrik Laine has refused to go to Philadelphia

As you may know, Patrik Laine didn’t have to agree to come to Montreal because the Habs weren’t among the teams on his no-trade list.

But he would still have said no to an NHL team before being traded to the Habs.

And according to colleague Maxime Truman, who heard the story from a very reliable source and told it on BPM Sports, we’re talking about the Flyers. Talks between the Blue Jackets and Flyers reportedly broke down when Laine said he didn’t want to go there.

What’s also important to know is that the transaction would have involved Ryan Johansen.

Ryan Johansen is the player whose contract Daniel Brière and the Flyers are currently trying to terminate. It’s not a simple matter, but the player may have done something that would have opened the door to the end of his contract.

All that to say, if Laine declined to join the Flyers, but didn’t have the Habs on his no-trade list, you have to wonder about the Flyers.

If we go back to the aborted deal, we see that the Habs acquired Laine and a second pick for Jordan Harris. Kent Hughes agreed to take 100% of the Finn’s salary.

There was no salary dump either, which would have been the case with Johansen’s contract.

It’s also worth noting that Laine was acquired on August 19 and that it was the following day, August 20, that the Flyers announced their intention to terminate Johansen’s contract, as he would not have been the most appreciated player in the Pennsylvania dressing room.