Canadiens Acquire $34.8 Million Forward from Blue Jackets in Blockbuster

wThe Montreal Canadiens have acquired Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a blockbuster deal.

The Canadiens announced the deal on X on August 19, as Montreal acquired Laine and a 2026 second-round pick for defenseman Jordan Harris.

Laine is entering the second year of his four-year $34.8 million deal as Montreal will take on his entire contract. The former second-overall pick has requested a trade from the Blue Jackets who have fulfilled his wish. Last season, Laine recorded 6 goals and 3 assists for 9 points in 18 games.

Harris, meanwhile, is a 24-year-old defenseman who was drafted in the third round in the 2018 NHL draft by Montreal.

“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,” said GM Don Waddell in a statement. “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.”

Harris has skated in 131 NHL games recording 8 goals and 24 assists for 32 points.

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Laine Requested a Trade From the Blue Jackets

Laine had requested a trade from Columbus after the season ended, and rumors swirled all summer of where he would land.

Blue Jackets GM Don Wadell went on TSN 1050’s OverDrive on August 16 and said he was working hard to move the former second-overall pick.

“This is a different situation than any that I’ve really dealt with. I’ve had players that have requested trades, and sometimes you trade them, sometimes you don’t… (Laine has) been very vocal about it, way before I got here, that he does not want to play for the Blue Jackets. There was a lot of things that went on in the locker room, and he just doesn’t want it,” Waddell said.

“This is different because it’s harder to bring him back knowing the situation. But saying that, that might be the option. We’re into the summer, he’s got a high cap hit for two years. I’m talking to teams every day, I’ve got two or three teams engaged right now, we’ll see where it goes,” Waddell added.

Laine has skated in 480 NHL games recording 204 goals and 184 assists for 388 points. He was drafted second overall in 2016.

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Canadiens GM Wasn’t Going to Force a Move

The acquisition of Laine is the first big move for the Canadiens of the offseason.

Montreal, instead, re-signed their own players like Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle as general manager Kent Hughes said he wasn’t going to force any move that would hinder the team in the future.

“We didn’t go into today thinking we had to accomplish things we wanted to. I think what happens in free agency, and it’s natural, is if you go in overly committed to coming out with something, then sometimes you come out with something that you look back on and wish you didn’t,” Hughes said.

“So, we wanted to enter the day with discipline and say, if we can do this under these parameters, we’ll do it. Otherwise, we’re fine to continue to wait and see if something materializes, either via free agency later or via trade first,” Hughes added.

The Canadiens will open its 2024-25 NHL season on Oct.  9 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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