Confirmed Trade: [MTL/CBJ] Patrik Laine, '26 2nd for Jordan Harris

[Rob Sense]

The Jackets roster is full of kids primed to breakout and have big seasons.

Chinakov, Marchenko, Voronkov, Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli all have performed extremely well. Will all of them breakout at once? Extremely unlikely.

Chinakov has the potential to be the biggest winner of Laine being moved off the roster as now his shot is the best on the team.

Marchenko has been steadily improving every year and could hit his next gear

Voronkov was a top rookie scorer last year until he cooled off

Fantilli was in the running for Calder until his injury.

Kent Johnson put up 40 points in his rookie season before his sophomore slump and injury.

Defensively guys like Jiricek and Mateychuk will likely need a little more time to develop but they could also pop off at any time.


All of that without even mentioning this is the first time since Torts was head coach that the CBJ will have an actual experienced head coach leading the team. Think about that, not only were the jackets a young team full of rookies and young kids the last few years, but they have been led by rookie head coaches for basically the last 3 seasons.

Looks like a lot of guys cooled off as others understood how to play against them. so you would make a significant wager that in 2026 the are out of the bottom 10? We will revist this. Rebuilds don't happen overnight.

Laine's personality is $hit

So this opinion is based on how much time spent with him? are you a psychiatrist or psychologist? or just making up troll dough?

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

First off, no mention of Laine or the trade so why you choose to post that makes 0 sense other than to attempt bash CBJ.

Second off, Button can go f*** himself. Way to alienate an entire fan base. We have an hands off owner who is willing to spend to the cap, new FO and new coaching for one of the youngest teams in the league. Him saying this shit now makes 0 sense, if he wanted to say that, he should've said it when Jarmo was still GM.


Third, how many failed franchises sell out in back to back lottery seasons?

They posted it because they hadn't thought up any terrible trade proposals recently to post.

I also like how Craig Button's comment is relevant after any hab fan roasted him for saying the Habs wouldn't win 1 game against the Leafs.

Also, probably still resentful from Columbus spanking the Habs 10-0 a few years ago.

 

[CBJx614]

Nahh you guy's are just a date on the calender,,, and you know it.

Cool story bro.

Looks like a lot of guys cooled off as others understood how to play against them. so you would make a significant wager that in 2026 the are out of the bottom 10? We will revist this. Rebuilds don't happen overnight.

Huh? Maybe if all you've looked at are the stat sheets. We've been rebuilding for years, you just haven't bothered to pay attention.


It's a lot of young kids, young players tend to be inconsistent.


KJ, Fantilli and Chinakov all played 50 or less games last season due to injury.

Marchenko went from 21G and 4A to 23G and 19A from his rookie to sophomore season

Voronkov scored 18 goals as a rookie and finished 5th among rookies.

They had a rookie head coach who constantly favored vets over kids, even when it was clear the kids had the hot hand that game.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Nahh you guy's are just a date on the calender,,, and you know it.

unfortunately true but you cant really blame CBJ fans for that .

 

[CBJx614]

unfortunately true but you cant really blame CBJ fans for that .

And what is Montreal right now? 3 straight 8th place finishes in your division. Montreal doesn't have a leg to stand on in this conversation of relevancy.

They are both young teams with potentially bright futures. Neither team should be talking shit about anyone.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

People seem to be hard on CBJ but I think this was an ok move.

I am interested to see if Laine can bounce back from all his issues but for CBJ it lets them move on.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Nahh you guy's are just a date on the calender,,, and you know it.

And what is Montreal?

 

[majormajor]

Nahh you guy's are just a date on the calender,,, and you know it.

As a rebuilding squad, yeah that's what it looks like. You don't think Montreal is in that position too?

What's striking is that just before acquiring Laine the Jackets were a playoff squad for four straight years and had won postseason series in back to back years. The Habs haven't had that kind of sustained success in a decade.

And look at Habs fans talking now, they've already planned the parade. How about you call us back when you're not 8th in your division for once?

for CBJ it lets them move on.

The sense of relief at no longer having Patrik Laine on your team is something you really have to live through to understand. I don't really care what he does anywhere else I'm just glad it's over in Columbus.

Four years ago the team had a great leadership group that had consistently churned out good results, better than the sum of their parts. Laine is partly responsible, and not a small part, for the transition to the ill-fitting roster that never came close to the sum of their parts.

 

[Rob Sense]

Cool story bro.

Huh? Maybe if all you've looked at are the stat sheets. We've been rebuilding for years, you just haven't bothered to pay attention.


It's a lot of young kids, young players tend to be inconsistent.


KJ, Fantilli and Chinakov all played 50 or less games last season due to injury.

Marchenko went from 21G and 4A to 23G and 19A from his rookie to sophomore season

Voronkov scored 18 goals as a rookie and finished 5th among rookies.

They had a rookie head coach who constantly favored vets over kids, even when it was clear the kids had the hot hand that game.

So next step is playoffs this year or next? That is what you are saying? I did not predict Habs out of bottom 10 but obviously connaisseurs of CBJ know more. Good luck

 

[CBJx614]

So next step is playoffs this year or next? That is what you are saying? I did not predict Habs out of bottom 10 but obviously connaisseurs of CBJ know more. Good luck

Where did I ever say anything about playoffs, you said bottom 10, now it's playoffs?

 

[Miller Time]

Best deal of the summer this far (Habs being the beneficiary)...

Future is bright

 

[Hunter368]

People seem to be hard on CBJ but I think this was an ok move.

I am interested to see if Laine can bounce back from all his issues but for CBJ it lets them move on.

I've said from the first day its a good trade for both teams, both teams got what they wanted. CBJ dumped Laine (while getting a cheap young 3rd pairing D) with no retainment (thats big for a small market team) and Habs got a lotto ticket in Laine (habs dont care about cap space or money while rebuilding, the benefits of a original six team) and hope he regains some of his value to trade him (retained) next season at the TDL for a 1st+. Good trade by both teams IMO

 

[Rob Sense]

Where did I ever say anything about playoffs, you said bottom 10, now it's playoffs?

So you are saying higher than 10 but less than 16? When you are above 10 typically you are in a playoff battle.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Not to mention their non-sensationalist hockey media and the patience and understanding that former players turned pundits have for a new crop of guys.

Look at Koivu.

Once he announced he was fighting cancer he became bulletproof as far as the fan base and media was concerned and as long as he was putting a good faith effort, he was beloved, supported and untouchable.

Laine could take the same pathway. Admit to having the demons that he's battling, step up and lead in the character department and he'd be the golden child, protected and embraced by Montreal fans and media.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Best part of this trade is future Habs fan cope and seethe on the boards.

There’s 2 years left on his contract lol. If he doesn’t work out, he’s gone. There’s literally no risk. No “Habs fan cope and seethe” for you. Imagine looking forward to imaginary posts on a hockey message board lmao.

 

[HabbyGuy]

And what is Montreal?

The favourite scheduled stop for most opposition, it doesn't matter how bad they suck, it's still a big game atmosphere everytime you play there. Most players will tell you they love playing in Montreal.

 

[Legend123]

First off, no mention of Laine or the trade so why you choose to post that makes 0 sense other than to attempt bash CBJ.

Second off, Button can go f*** himself. Way to alienate an entire fan base. We have an hands off owner who is willing to spend to the cap, new FO and new coaching for one of the youngest teams in the league. Him saying this shit now makes 0 sense, if he wanted to say that, he should've said it when Jarmo was still GM.


Third, how many failed franchises sell out in back to back lottery seasons?

u guys sold out ???????

 

[MoneyManny]

And what is Montreal right now? 3 straight 8th place finishes in your division. Montreal doesn't have a leg to stand on in this conversation of relevancy.

They are both young teams with potentially bright futures. Neither team should be talking shit about anyone.

Agreed, this is ridiculous lol.

 

[CanadienShark]

Are you somehow incapable of feeling embarrassment?

He doesn't even cheer for a team; only against the Habs.

 

[RationalExpectations]

Cool story bro.

Huh? Maybe if all you've looked at are the stat sheets. We've been rebuilding for years, you just haven't bothered to pay attention.


It's a lot of young kids, young players tend to be inconsistent.


KJ, Fantilli and Chinakov all played 50 or less games last season due to injury.

Marchenko went from 21G and 4A to 23G and 19A from his rookie to sophomore season

Voronkov scored 18 goals as a rookie and finished 5th among rookies.

They had a rookie head coach who constantly favored vets over kids, even when it was clear the kids had the hot hand that game.

I am a Habs fan but I think CBJ indeed has a bright future in front of them. No idea when the jump will happen though. My guess is that their 3 Russians, Gaudreau Monahan Jenner make for solid top 6 NHL players. The big question mark (since Lindstrom is a few years away most likely from having a key impact) is how Fantili Johnson Sillinger are going to perform because that could speed up things as soon as this year if they take a big step. D and goaltending seem questionable though (I am a big Jiricek fan since the draft but he is still very raw) given injuries, youth factor…

 

[Baksfamous112]

And what is Montreal?

A city

 

[elmaco]

Look at Koivu.

Once he announced he was fighting cancer he became bulletproof as far as the fan base and media was concerned and as long as he was putting a good faith effort, he was beloved, supported and untouchable.

Laine could take the same pathway. Admit to having the demons that he's battling, step up and lead in the character department and he'd be the golden child, protected and embraced by Montreal fans and media.

This isn't even unique by modern standard, Robin Lehner went through and overcame these same kind of problems.

 

[CBJx614]

u guys sold out ???????

21/22- finished 10th in the East

https://x.com/i/web/status/1500501883655499779

22-23 16th in the East

https://x.com/i/web/status/1639488411114299397

23-24 we were out of the playoffs by like November yet

https://x.com/i/web/status/1761922284564967558

When this team pops off, the town is going to lose it's shit. It deserves and expects a winner.


Not to mention they've already all but sold out Ohio stadium for the stadium Series (100,000+ seats)

 

[JianYang]

Look at Koivu.

Once he announced he was fighting cancer he became bulletproof as far as the fan base and media was concerned and as long as he was putting a good faith effort, he was beloved, supported and untouchable.

Laine could take the same pathway. Admit to having the demons that he's battling, step up and lead in the character department and he'd be the golden child, protected and embraced by Montreal fans and media.

Generally, if you give an honest effort and don't get snippy with the media's dumb questions, you'll be fine in that regard. There will be a certain part of the media that will have certain biases, but that is out of the player's control and does not represent the lot.

But, the more difficult thing to deal with is knowing that if you want to go outside, there are eyeballs on you because people know who you are. Whether they give the player space or not, it has to be grating over time.

 

[stevo61]

Columbus started its rebuild and drafting in the top 10 1 year before Montreal. This year with a new coach/GM feels like a reset year for everyone and time to start crawling out of the bottom feeder hole. Laine didnt want to be part of that, not really sad about it.

We've seen the team draft Johnson, Sillinger, Cuelemans, Jiricek, Mateychuk, Fantilli, Lindstrom just in the 1st round of the last 4 drafts. Finally have a high potential for fantastic center depth and some tough to play against hardworking players with skill to create some kind of identity again