Confirmed with Link: Patrik Laine and 2026 2nd round pick acquired from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Jordan Harris

[Price is Wright]

Saw the TSN guy say that bringing in Laine into Montreal could be risky due to his player assistance issues.

Let me say this. I'm no expert or insider. But I know how people talk about MSL throughout his career and how veterans talk about Suzuki as a leader.

This isn't the, "pretend you didn't see it" leadership of the past. I am not worried about it one bit.

 

[Tyson]

Frankly, if either is still in our top six, we are pretenders.

Admiral I have to disagree a bit. Newhook is a player who showed alot of good things last year. He is probably the best skating forward on the team, a very solid 5'11 200 LB player.
Still very young. If he stays healthy I see a very productive season for him.

 

[Saundies]

If Laine hits, he’s not a guy you flip at 26. You keep him and sign him for life.


I want to see Laine with Dach and Slaf. Size for days. How did Hughes do this in such a short time? That’s crazy.

That's the thing about this trade.. it opens up avenues to do this (both in the top 6 and the PP).

Roy looks like he's going to be a player but he's not quite there yet. Third line minutes is plenty for him to learn and fall under the radar as a rookie. He can fill in on the PP/top 6 if needed or if he's playing well and not have the weight of the world on his shoulders right away.

 

[TRG]

Sens board is... Special

 

[Andrei79]

Admiral I have to disagree a bit. Newhook is a player who showed alot of good things last year. He is probably the best skating forward on the team, a very solid 5'11 200 LB player.
Still very young. If he stays healthy I see a very productive season for him.

I agree.

I thought his game was getting more and more complete as the year progressed. I was impressed by how his smarts improved.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Admiral I have to disagree a bit. Newhook is a player who showed alot of good things last year. He is probably the best skating forward on the team, a very solid 5'11 200 LB player.
Still very young. If he stays healthy I see a very productive season for him.

With Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Slafkovsky and now Laine penciled in the top six, Demidov and Hage on the horizon, 3 first and 4 second round picks over the next two years and the possibility of Hughes securing additional elite offensive talent, both Newhook and Roy are long shots to be top six forwards on this emerging team. That doesn't mean both can't be important contributors on the team, just not in the top six. If they are, we have grossly over-estimated the potential of both the talent assembled and that about to arrive.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

Yes sir, Dach & Liane can cook up some serious offensive voodoo together. If they can establish the chemistry that blossomed on our first line last year….wow, we become difficult to defend. Two consistently scoring lines gives us the luxury of concentrating on building the bottom 6. A 3rd line that works as a shut down, defence first group with peripheral scoring (Newhook)and a hard nosed 4th with speed, checking & all around annoyance(Tuck-Flo-Jack), lol.
Cheers

 

[FormerLurker]

Hold on. So the Habs get Laine plus a 2026 2nd for Harris instead of the Habs sending a 2026 2nd back to CBJ along with Harris. So Laine was a cap dump then.

Add this trade to the other August 19th trades in Habs history.

August 19, 2024 - Jordan Harris traded to Columbus Blue Jackets for Patrick Laine plus a 2026 2nd round pick.

August 19, 1994 - Guy Carbonneau traded to St. Louis Blues for Jim Montgomery

August 19, 1986 - Steve Penney and the rights to Jan Ingman traded to Winnipeg Jets for Brian Hayward

August 19, 1947 - Frank Eddolls and Buddy O'Connor traded to New York Rangers for Hal Laycoe, Joe Bell and George Robertson

I always thought we gave up on Eddols too soon.

 

[Habs10Habs]

I said I’d do it for Harris. I think I also said I’d expect a pick back. Hugo delivered.

He knows what he’s doing. There’s not much risk with this and there’s some good upside.

But I wouldn’t expect 40 goals. I think expectations should be measured. If he crushes it? Awesome. But I see him as a depth move for now.

We debated a lot, I do remember you mentioning Harris and a draft pick. Which is actually less than I thought it would cost us. So yes, they did deliver.

That's the points I was trying to bring when endorsing us trading for Laine. If vetted properly, which is what seems to have happened. The risk is minimal, while he's still young enough. To be a good fit for now and potentially long term.

I personally think expecting 40 may be a little high as well. I think a lot depends on how well he gels with Dach, Newhook/Roy. I see him a little higher than just a "depth move". I can see him being a vital part of our top 6.

 

[the]

Admiral I have to disagree a bit. Newhook is a player who showed alot of good things last year. He is probably the best skating forward on the team, a very solid 5'11 200 LB player.
Still very young. If he stays healthy I see a very productive season for him.

Boggles my mind how many people disregard Newhook. He looked good especially if you factor in the circumstances he was dealt with last season. His game kept growing month by month and played like a top 6 player.

 

[Rapala]

I was never a fan of this trade but I also said I would trust Hughes and company to make the right decision.
I have a better feeling about the deal after listening to both interviews.
I liked the fact that he talked about team goals and wanting to be hard to play against.

He wouldn't be the first restless young man to settle down in his mid twenties.
A new life partner with a vocation in mental health should be a huge steadying influence.

 

[Habs10Habs]

Yes sir, Dach & Liane can cook up some serious offensive voodoo together. If they can establish the chemistry that blossomed on our first line last year….wow, we become difficult to defend. Two consistently scoring lines gives us the luxury of concentrating on building the bottom 6. A 3rd line that works as a shut down, defence first group with peripheral scoring (Newhook)and a hard nosed 4th with speed, checking & all around annoyance(Tuck-Flo-Jack), lol.
Cheers

A little ditty about Dach & Liane. Sorry, it's getting late.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the chemistry between those two. I just hope us as fans are patient, and give them time to gel.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I f***ing love this trade, Hughes has redeemed the offseason big time with this move. Easily my favorite trade from Hughes.

I was honestly getting pretty annoyed, if you asked me yesterday, I would've said this team is a bottom-5 lock, with a better chance at being the worst team in the league than a playoff team.

Now? I am so thankful that they are not committing to another tank, and it's unpopular here but there are a couple other moves I would love too.

Gallagher + Barron for Letang next.

Slafkovsky-Suzuki-Laine
Newhook-Dach-Caufield
Roy-Dvorak-Anderson

Guhle-Letang
Matheson-Savard
Hutson/Xhekaj/Struble/Mailloux

 

[calder candidate]

We definately won the game of chicken... Kind of surprised since you think there more presure in Mtl to acquire Laine than for CBJ to get rid of him.
It would be fun to know which team were on Laine no trade clause because if he had the like of ANA, DET, SJ UTH, BUF, STL, CHI, CAR he may have serious limited CBJ options or why CBJ weren't willing to retain to get a better deal (wondering when is signing bonus is being pay and if that was a factor), clearly there are more than a few teams that have internal budget if no one else were willing to take a 2nd to take Laine salary...

This trade can only be positive, will be going into camp with lots of positive excitement and momentum... We also have one less D where we had a had a logjam.

 

[KevSkillz4]

I have feeling that's this trade will be Kovalev trade 2.0 !!

 

[mazmin]

Congrats on acquiring Laine, Habs fans!! He's a special talent who I feel will still score 50 goals one day.

To maximize his chances he'll need to play on the left point on the PP with as many right handed shots as possible to they can feed him passes with the right spin for an unstoppable (nearly invisible) one-timer. He did well taking feeds on the PP from Wheeler, Scheifele and Pionk, but not so well from Connor, Ehlers and Morrissey. Food for thought. Good luck!

 

[Treb]

Hopefully it doesn't turn out like Drouin.

How can it turn out like Drouin?

We have not paid prime assets for him and haven't bet on a long term contract.

Worse case scenario is we are limited in cap for two years in which we are not contending.

Best case scenario we have a long term fixture in our top6.

At the point our team is at, the downside is negligible, unlike what it was (and happened) for Drouin.

There's like a 0.001% this is a significant loss for the Habs.

 

[Habs10Habs]

I was never a fan of this trade but I also said I would trust Hughes and company to make the right decision.
I have a better feeling about the deal after listening to both interviews.
I liked the fact that he talked about team goals and wanting to be hard to play against.

He wouldn't be the first restless young man to settle down in his mid twenties.
A new life partner with a vocation in mental health should be a huge steadying influence.

So you're saying we can buy matching Laine jerseys now?

As I mentioned earlier. I can understand the doubters. There were a lot of risks involved in trading for Laine. So I can see people being not sure, or down right against it.

In this situation, HuGo and Marty did everything possible to try and eliminate or atleast address those issues.

A knowledgable poster pointed out to me how they felt that after Laine signed his contract (with the Jets). During his interview, he came across as a "ME, ME" type of player. After watching Laine's interview today. He seems a lot more like a player who gets it. Actions obviously speak louder than words. Today Laine said all the right things. While appearing much more mature and in the right frame of mind.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We debated a lot, I do remember you mentioning Harris and a draft pick. Which is actually less than I thought it would cost us. So yes, they did deliver.

That's the points I was trying to bring when endorsing us trading for Laine. If vetted properly, which is what seems to have happened. The risk is minimal, while he's still young enough. To be a good fit for now and potentially long term.

I personally think expecting 40 may be a little high as well. I think a lot depends on how well he gels with Dach, Newhook/Roy. I see him a little higher than just a "depth move". I can see him being a vital part of our top 6.

As I said back then - it all depends on what we give up. If it’s Harris, that’s cool. Worth the risk. But if it’s something significant? I wouldn’t have done this.

We have the cap space and his deal is two years. That’s good and the potential is there for a superstar player.

But I hope people temper expectations. If people think he’s a 40 goal guy and he delivers 20? It’s a huge disappointment. I’d rather go the other way. Expect 20 and hope for more.

 

[Darz]

Great work by Hughes. I think the Habs are gonna surprise a lot of people this year (yeah I’m thinking playoffs….IF the team can stay relatively healthy), but I’m really, really excited to think of what this team can achieve in 25-26. A top six of Suzuki, Slaf, Dach, Demidov, Caufield, Laine. Plus Newhook , Roy, Beck etc. Add in the great amount of young dmen and the great amount of draft capital at our disposal and if your not excited as a Habs fan, I dunno what to tell ya

 

[KevSkillz4]

Congrats on acquiring Laine, Habs fans!! He's a special talent who I feel will still score 50 goals one day.

To maximize his chances he'll need to play on the left point on the PP with as many right handed shots as possible to they can feed him passes with the right spin for an unstoppable (nearly invisible) one-timer. He did well taking feeds on the PP from Wheeler, Scheifele and Pionk, but not so well from Connor, Ehlers and Morrissey. Food for thought. Good luck!

Thank you so much!!

I'm very happy to have him. I think he will shine with a young team like MTL and coach MSL!!

 

[Habs10Habs]

We definately won the game of chicken... Kind of surprised since you think there more presure in Mtl to acquire Laine than for CBJ to get rid of him.
It would be fun to know which team were on Laine no trade clause because if he had the like of ANA, DET, SJ UTH, BUF, STL, CHI, CAR he may have serious limited CBJ options or why CBJ weren't willing to retain to get a better deal (wondering when is signing bonus is being pay and if that was a factor), clearly there are more than a few teams that have internal budget if no one else were willing to take a 2nd to take Laine salary...

This trade can only be positive, will be going into camp with lots of positive excitement and momentum... We also have one less D where we had a had a logjam.

I thought the same thing. But then I thought, hmm a deep dish pizza would be nice right about now.

Ok back to reality. With CLB bringing in a new GM and a new coach. It was probably best to settle things down before training camp starts. Having the "Laine" situation hanging over their heads, might have been a distraction.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

How can it turn out like Drouin?

We have not paid prime assets for him and haven't bet on a long term contract.

Worse case scenario is we are limited in cap for two years in which we are not contending.

Best case scenario we have a long term fixture in our top6.

At the point our team is at, the downside is negligible, unlike what it was (and happened) for Drouin.

There's like a 0.001% this is a significant loss for the Habs.

Yes. Pretty much no risk. In 2 years Demidov, Beck, possibly Hage, Xhekaj etc will be ready. It's a chance to contend now. if it doesn't work out there will be replacements in 2 years.

 

[Habs10Habs]

Congrats on acquiring Laine, Habs fans!! He's a special talent who I feel will still score 50 goals one day.

To maximize his chances he'll need to play on the left point on the PP with as many right handed shots as possible to they can feed him passes with the right spin for an unstoppable (nearly invisible) one-timer. He did well taking feeds on the PP from Wheeler, Scheifele and Pionk, but not so well from Connor, Ehlers and Morrissey. Food for thought. Good luck!

Thank you, appreciate that.

 

[Rapala]

So you're saying we can buy matching Laine jerseys now?

As I mentioned earlier. I can understand the doubters. There were a lot of risks involved in trading for Laine. So I can see people being not sure, or down right against it.

In this situation, HuGo and Marty did everything possible to try and eliminate or atleast address those issues.

A knowledgable poster pointed out to me how they felt that after Laine signed his contract. During his interview, he came across as a "ME, ME" type of player. After watching Laine's interview today. He seems a lot more like a player who gets it. Actions obviously speak louder than words. Today Laine said all the right things. While appearing much more mature and in the right frame of mind.

The deal would never have got done without Waddell "Graciously" allowing us complete access to the entire dossier including the interview with Laine.
I love how Kent Hughes uses terms that will endear the GM's he's fleecing.