August 19, 2024
The Montreal Canadiens have acquired Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets
Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Monday that the team has acquired forward Patrik Laine and a second-round pick in 2026 from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jordan Harris.
Laine, 26, registered six goals, three assists in 18 games with Columbus last season. Drafted second overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2016, Laine has 204 goals and 388 points in 480 career games split between the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets.
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At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, the right-handed winger becomes the tallest player on the Montreal Canadiens roster – and among the highest skilled players as well. While Laine has struggled of late in Columbus, it is import to note that he was a point per game player during his first two seasons with the team, and scored a career high 44 goals as a member of the Winnipeg Jets. As 26, there is still a very strong chance that Laine regains his former level of play.
Laine had stated that he wouldn’t play another game for the Blue Jackets and demanded to be traded, which would more that likely explain how little Montreal had to give up to obtain a player of this caliber. While Laine declined to say why he wanted out of Columbus, he had just been cleared to return to play after he had entered the NHLPA players’ assistance program in late January and was treated for self-described mental health reasons. He also underwent off-season shoulder surgery has only recently been cleared to return to practicing.
“We want players that want to be Blue Jackets and Patrik made it clear that he thought a change of scenery was best for him,” Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said. “We were able to acquire a good young player in Jordan Harris while maintaining financial flexibility in this deal which was very important to us. We wish Patrik all the best.”
Jordan Harris heads to Columbus and is a good, young player on a cap friendly $1.4M contract that should help the Blue Jackets for years to come. More a move made due to the logjam of defensive prospects in Montreal’s system than anything else, Harris is a highly skilled and intelligent puck-moving defenseman early into his NHL career.
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Harris, 24, made his NHL debut at the end of the 2021-22 season after the Canadiens nabbed him in the 2018 Draft. He joined the Canadiens toward the end of that season after a four-year run at Northeastern University and has since registered eight goals and 24 assists in 131 career NHL games, also posting 86 blocked shots and 43 shots on goal.
Laine’s $8.7 million contract runs through the 2025-26 season.
