The Maple Leafs can take a cheap swing at Patrik Laine with almost nothing to lose

Toronto could fill out their top-six with an old rival for cheap as Patrik Laine could be the perfect player to snag on a league minimum while incentivizing his play.

The Maple Leafs are a team who have done a lot of work over the past few weeks to transform their lineup from top to bottom. They added several forwards to the bottom-six, brought in Darren Raddysh, and shored up the crease by adding Sergei Bobrovsky.

They still need to have some help up front though and they have been linked to the likes Patrick Kane and Claude Giroux in order to bring in some veteran firepower, but there is another player kicking around who has seemingly been ignored since free agency opened up, and he could be a sneaky good addition.

Patrik Laine's a low-risk, high-reward signing for John Chayka and the Maple Leafs

Patrik Laine's career hasn't exactly unfolded the way that he had envisioned. After a very strong start to his career, he bounced around several teams, dealt with injury and personal issues, and only appeared in five games for Montreal last season.

The Finnish forward has 422 points in 537 games (224 goals, 198 assists) while spending time with Winnipeg, Columbus and Montreal; he finished second in Calder Trophy votes behind Auston Matthews (more on him later).

He's still a player who can contribute a high level of offence albeit not that great defensively, but there's no doubt that he can add a great help to the Maple Leafs top-six especially if he signs for cheap; which some fans think is a smart call:

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With the bottom-six already clearing the way for more offensive opportunities, adding Laine on a league minimum or even a $1-million contract for a season is a low-risk option that has hardly any downsides.

Plus, he's a guy who can sign one of those incentive-laden deals given his time in the league and injury time piling up.

Adding Patrik Laine isn't a bad idea and Toronto's the perfect place to redeem himself

First, if Laine doesn't work out it's a one year test with very minimal commitment financially, and if he doesn't reach his bonuses then he won't get the extra pay; no harm, no foul.

Secondly, if it does work out then Toronto can give themselves a leg up over their Atlantic Division rivals by adding a potential 20+ goal scorer for peanuts, and considering the level of financial incentive for him to do well, he'd be extra motivated.

Finally, Laine is someone who deserves a chance. He hasn't exactly gotten a fair shake injury wise, and he stepped away from hockey for half a year to deal with mental health issues, and has been open about his struggles. He has been through a lot, and with such minimal commitment; he's a great signing.

Laine will be given a ton of chances to provide offence while also getting a strong chance to compete. He's surrounded by stars, he's going to be exclusively an offensive player, and he's going to have the most dedicated and loyal fanbase supporting him.

But signing him does push someone else out of the lineup, and if he's going to be getting more looks over some guys like Easton Cowan for the sake of having a trusted veteran then it could lead to some friction.

It's also a cool little tidbit that we could see Matthews and Laine line up together as the #1 and #2 overall picks in 2016; a crazy statement if made a decade ago.

There was always a debate between who the Maple Leafs should have taken first overall in 2016. They had their shot at Laine or Auston Matthews and chose the latter and the rest is history.

But ten years later, they can circle back and bring him in while giving fans a taste of what may have been in a different timeline.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Toronto kept the Marlies playoff standout who is glued to Easton Cowan's hip