After requesting a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Patrik Laine finally fulfilled his wishes, and he and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft was sent to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jordan Harris. It seems that both teams will have a win-win situation as Laine gets a fresh start in Montreal while Columbus gets promising assets to begin the 2024-25 season.

Patrik Laine had an impressive run before suffering a broken clavicle in December 2023 and did not play for the remainder of the season. He was later brought under the care of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in January and was later cleared from the program by July 26th. Laine would go on to speak with the team’s management and later requested a trade from the team, which was granted as soon as the team came up with an equitable deal.

Laine initially had nine points coming off six goals and three assists in 18 games last season. He also had two seasons left in his four-year, $34-million contract with the Blue Jackets that he signed last July 2022. Now he gets a chance to prove his worth once more and come back stronger after having some tough struggles in his games prior.

A Fresh Start in Montreal

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes had already spoken to Laine before the trade was completed. He said that Laine was ready to commit and promised a strong performance in the coming season with the hopes of getting a lot of minutes in the rotation and proving his worth on the big stage.

“We’re very young, and he may be young at 26, but that still makes him an older statesman on the Montreal Canadiens. And we’re hoping that as such he’ll do his part to help and teach our young players,” said Hughes about his discussion with Laine before the trade. “And we talked to him about that, about you look back at your time when you came to Winnipeg as a young 18-year-old hockey player and you think about the people and things that helped you be successful, and you think about the things that occurred that maybe made it more difficult to be successful, and carry that forward to the Montreal Canadiens and help those players succeed.”

Selected in the 2016 NHL Draft, Laine has a total of 388 points off 204 goals and 184 assists in 480 games with the Blue Jackets and the Jets. He has also played in a total of 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games, amassing 16 points coming from eight goals and eight assists in the postseason stage.

A New Dawn for the Blue Jackets

At the age of 26, Laine departs from a team that has built on his impressive success in his career.However, this opens up a new opportunity for the Blue Jackets as they now enter the coming season with Jordan Harris instead. Columbus GM Don Waddell claims that it was a good trade to bring in a new defenseman into the squad while also ensuring that Laine will have a bright future in his new team.

"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."

Now this season begins a new dawn for the Blue Jackets, and perhaps they can finally build upon a bigger chance at the playoffs in the season.