Blue Jackets sell veteran forward Patrik Laine to Canadiens

Just days after it was announced he wanted to leave, Patrik Laine is no longer a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The winger was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday in exchange for defenseman Jordan Harris.

The Blue Jackets received a 2026 second-round pick in addition to Harris and did not retain any of Laine’s salary in the deal. Laine, 26, has two years left on his $8.7 million-per-year contract. Laine’s future with the Blue Jackets has been uncertain for some time. The speculation intensified last week when Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell told TSN 1050 in Toronto that Laine had publicly stated that he no longer wanted to play for the Blue Jackets.

Waddell, in a statement released at the time of the transfer, reiterated Laine’s desire to leave.

“We want players who want to be Blue Jackets and Patrik made it clear that he felt a change of scenery was best for him,” Waddell said. “We were able to bring in a good young player in Jordan Harris while maintaining financial flexibility in this deal, which was very important to us. We wish Patrik the very best.”

In 2016, the Winnipeg Jets drafted Laine with the second overall pick and saw him score 80 goals in his first two seasons. He played four full seasons with the Jets before being traded to the Blue Jackets just one game into the 2020-21 season.

With Laine’s arrival, he became one of the key players in the Blue Jackets’ rebuild, led by free agent Johnny Gaudreau, established homegrown talents like Zach Werenski, and new prospects like Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko.

The towering 1.95m winger scored 20 goals in two consecutive seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

What ended up being his final season in Columbus saw him miss nine games in October and November after being diagnosed with a concussion. He also missed three games in December before entering the NHL/NHL Players’ Association player assistance program indefinitely in late January.

Laine had six goals and nine points in 18 games before being accepted into the player assistance program.

He now heads to Montreal, where he is expected to play a key role in helping the young Canadiens squad take the next step in its evolution.

Since losing the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals, the Canadiens have been in the midst of a rebuild. They’ve missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, but have continued to make strides under head coach and Hall of Fame winger Martin St. Louis.

St. Louis, hired in February 2022, has assembled a young roster that went from 68 points in his first full season to 76 in 2023-24, creating a belief that an 80-point season could be within reach.

Laine’s arrival could help achieve that goal, as he gives St. Louis another top-six option in a group that already includes Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, captain Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, who was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.

While the Canadiens have built a collection of young forwards, they have also drafted and developed defensemen. They have utilized homegrown talents such as Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj and Harris as part of their plans in recent seasons, with more talent such as former Boston University star Lane Hutson also joining the team.

Because the Canadiens had a top-four defensive lineup in veterans Mike Matheson and David Savard, along with Guhle and Hutson, they were able to get away from Harris, as they had other defensemen in the system who could have a shot at the bottom position.

Harris now joins the Blue Jackets’ defensive corps, which also includes Erik Gudbranson, David Jiricek, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson and Werenski, as the club hopes to improve on the 66 points they recorded in 2023-24, which left them with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-fewest points in the NHL.