Talked to an NHL team front office source yesterday about the status of Columbus moving Patrik Laine to his next team. NHL general managers, by now, have generally wrapped up their summer vacations and are back in their offices to assess their rosters for training camp.

The replay, "Laine seems to be in a much better space now in his personal life. But nothing is imminent on the trade front. [Don] Waddell has made it clear that he won't take pennies on the dollar for the sake of moving Laine. Everyone knows Columbus has to trade him and Laine himself wants a fresh start elsewhere. But Don's a veteran. He's not going to rush. This is a deal Columbus has to get right."

I also asked about the report by Mark Madden that Pittsburgh has talked to Montreal, at the request of Kris Letang, about a deal that would have the Penguins' longtime No. 1 defenseman finish his career with Habs.

"I don't know firsthand here but it wouldn't surprise me if there was some kind of discussion. Pittsburgh's [Cup] window is shut closed, and it's past time for them to rebuild. We've seen what's happened this summer with Crosby's negotiations. It hasn't been a slam dunk, right? If Letang wants to go to Montreal, it's in [Kyle] Dubas' best interests to see what he can for his own team's sake."

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