Laine gets ‘change of scenery’ in trade to Habs

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

The Blue Jackets received a 2026 second-round pick in addition to Harris and will not retain any of Laine’s salary in the deal. Laine, 26, has two years left on his contract worth $8.7 million annually. Laine’s future with the Blue Jackets had been in question for quite some time. The speculation further intensified last week when Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell told TSN 1050 in Toronto that Laine was vocal about not wanting to play for the Blue Jackets anymore.

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

“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,” 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.”

Back in 2016, the Winnipeg Jets drafted Laine with the No. 2 pick and watched him score 80 goals in his first two seasons. He spent four full seasons with the Jets before he was traded to the Blue Jackets just one game into the 2020-21 season.

Laine’s arrival made him one of the crucial pieces of a Blue Jackets rebuild that was powered by free agent signing Johnny Gaudreau, established homegrown talents such as Zach Werenski and newer prospects such as Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko.

Laine, a hulking 6-foot-5 winger, had consecutive 20-goal seasons in 2021-22 and in 2022-23.

What ultimately became 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 in late January for an indefinite period.

Laine had six goals and nine points in 18 games before he was admitted into the player assistance program.

He now heads to Montreal, where he’s expected to play a major role in helping a young Canadiens roster that is seeking to take the next step in its evolution.

Ever since they lost the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, the Canadiens have been on a rebuild that has seen them miss the playoffs for three straight seasons but make strides under head coach and Hall of Fame winger Martin St. Louis.

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

Laine’s arrival could help with reaching that goal as he’ll give St. Louis another top-six option in a group that already included Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, captain Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, who was the No. 1 pick of the 2022 NHL draft.

While the Canadiens have built a strong group of young forwards, they’ve also drafted and developed defensemen. They’ve used homegrown talents such as Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj and Harris as part of their plans over the past few seasons with more talents such as former Boston University star Lane Hutson also joining the team.

Having a top-four defensive setup that features veterans Mike Matheson and David Savard along with Guhle and Hutson meant the Canadiens were able to move on from Harris, as they had other defensemen in the system who could challenge for a bottom-pairing role.

Now Harris joins a Blue Jackets defensive corps that includes Erik Gudbranson, David Jiricek, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson and Werenski as the club seeks to improve on a 66-point season that saw it finish with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-fewest points in the NHL in 2023-24.