The Canadiens need more forwards who can score goals and now they have acquired one who has shown in the past he can do that.
General manager Kent Hughes announced Monday afternoon that the Canadiens have acquired Patrik Laine and a second-round pick at the 2026 NHL Draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris.
There are some red flags with Laine, who only played 18 games last season with the Blue Jackets while posting 6-3-9 totals.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound winger hasn’t played since breaking his left clavicle during a game in mid-December. Laine also entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in January and has acknowledged struggling with mental health at times during his eight-year NHL career.
“After careful consideration and discussion with my support network and the team, I have recognized the importance of prioritizing my mental health and well-being,” Laine said on Instagram after entering the NHL/NHLPA program. “Hockey has been my passion and my life, but I have come to realize that in order to perform at my best, I need to take this time to focus on myself.”
The Finnish forward has two seasons remaining on his contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$8.7 million after which he can become an unrestricted free agent. Laine becomes the highest-paid player on the Canadiens, surpassing captain Nick Suzuki, who has an annual salary-cap hit of US$7.857 million.
The 24-year-old Harris had 3-11-14 totals in 56 games last season with the Canadiens. He was selected by the Canadiens in the third round (71st overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. Harris has one season remaining on his contract with a salary-cap hit of US$1.4 million after which he can become a restricted free agent.
“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,” Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said on the team’s website. “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.”
The Canadiens ranked 26th in the NHL in scoring last season, averaging 2.83 goals per game, while finishing 28th in the overall league standings with a 30-36-16 record. They ranked fourth in the NHL in goals by defencemen and have an abundance of young blue-liners with Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux both making their NHL debuts at the end of last season.
Expect Laine to be slotted in on the second line with the Canadiens to start next season, along with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook behind the first line of Suzuki between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky.
The Jets traded Laine to the Blue Jackets on Jan. 23, 2021, along with Jack Roslovic, in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a third-round pick at the 2022 NHL Draft (centre Daniel Zhilkin).
Laine scored 36 goals as a rookie with the Jets in 2016-17 and followed that up with a career-high 44 goals the next season, followed by a 30-goal season in 2018-19. He hasn’t hit the 30-goal mark since then.
In 480 career NHL games, Laine has 204-184-388 totals.
Harris’s name came up in trade speculation before last season’s NHL trade deadline.
When asked about the possibility of getting traded in June at the annual Cummings Centre Foundation Sports Celebrity Breakfast in Montreal, Harris said: “That’s stuff’s definitely out of my control at least for the summer. There’s no games to be played in the summer or anything. So you just got to take it in stride. Management will do what they think is best for the team and that’s their job. So you just got to take it as it is and control what you can. Keep training and get ready for the upcoming season.”
Hughes is scheduled to speak with the Montreal media on a Zoom conference at 5 p.m., followed by Laine at 6 p.m.