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

[26Mats]

This trade reminds me of the Vanek trade, despite the many different circumstances. I like this trade. Habs are dealing from a position of strength to add to a position of need.

Yeah, I thought of the Kovalev trade and how well that worked out long term, with some patience.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Injury prone with character issues. I highly doubt he's in long term plans. Laine has lengthy injury history. Then substance abuse. Bad defensively with huge contract.

I think he starts great but gone by 2nd deadline at lastest. A trade generally rejuvenates but long term Old habits die hard.

I think Habs get good 40 goal season out of him, flip him for a first. In 5 years looking back, Habs got a 2nd and 1st for Harris.

According to what the reports were saying, he didn't go into the Player Program due to substance abuse. It was mental health reasons.

 

[Scintillating10]

Yikes I’ll give you a hint. The vision of this trade isn’t an eventual 1st and 2nd for Harris.

Laine not here long term. Canadiens not going to lock him to big contract. He has lengthy injury history, has mental issues, terrible defensively. Too much there. Laine likely score 40 this year. You looking at 10 million a year for 7 years. Too much of a risk. If it goes bad his contract will kill team thru cup contending years. They will flip him get big return. He's holding the fort until Demidov is ready.

 

[WeThreeKings]

According to what the reports were saying, he didn't go into the Player Program due to substance abuse. It was mental health reasons.

You don't even have to go into reports. He came out and started a mental health foundation with his wife.

 

[HomaridII]

According to what the reports were saying, he didn't go into the Player Program due to substance abuse. It was mental health reasons.

He spoke briefly about it yesterday. Said something like he wasn't always able to deal with things when not everything was going well.

Him and his fiancee (he got engaged doing his time off and will get married July 2025), created a new organization "From us to you" to advocate and promote mental health.

Laine throughout his career always played better when under pressure and in a winning team. He was MVP of the Finnish Playoffs at 17, world JR MVP, he scored 80 goals at 18-19 in the NHL, 12 points in 19 games in his only playoff run as a teenager, etc..

He is coming into a solid organization, with a solid squad of leaders already in place. I actually think he will thrive in Montreal.

 

[Adam Michaels]

You don't even have to go into reports. He came out and started a mental health foundation with his wife.

Yes you're right. And the fact the Habs have a mental health specialist in their hockey ops should help benefit someone like Laine, who might seek him out throughout the seasons. Having that available to their players helped Armia.

 

[jonu]

terrible defensively.

 

[habsfan891]

Haven’t checked out the mains… guessing Laine is washed and Montreal are idiots for taking a chance?

I haven't either but I feel like you summed up exactly what it will be lmao

 

[SwiftyHab]

According to what the reports were saying, he didn't go into the Player Program due to substance abuse. It was mental health reasons.

My theory on this is that he was addicted to playing video games. Specifically fortnite.

Matthew Perrault went on la poche blue last night and said that he would bring his game out with him when they went out. He was no doubt gaming all night instead of sleeping. That alone could help explain why he was so injury prone if he didn’t give himself enough rest to recover.

I think he said all the right things yesterday about his recovery including his renewed focus on hockey and wanting to win and not just score goals but play the game

If that’s all true, it may take him half a season or so to find his new form but he’ll be great.

big If but we’re not basing the fate of the team on him anyway, he’s only one of many great pieces we have

 

[Lshap]

Worst case, Laine rubs off negatively on the team culture in the Habs' dressing room. Best case, the team's positive culture rubs off on Laine.

I know we can easily bail if it doesn't work out, but what an opportunity if it does work!

 

[RabbleMasterBlaster]

I haven't either but I feel like you summed up exactly what it will be lmao

Surprisingly no. Most folks think Habs got a steal. Some think the media will eat him alive. For the most part, it's been mostly reasonable posting. Very unusual.

 

[Sam I Am]

Yes, with a future core that will be built around smallish, skilled players like Caufield, Demidov and Hutson, Montreal needs a level of 'steel' interspersed through out the team's evolving line-up. While Struble lacks Harris' overall fluidity, he brings more than adequate mobility and a level of physicality that makes him a better fit going forward.

With the team's growing backlog of promising defenders, there wasn't enough room and roster space to retain all these prospects. I think most here would have been quite satisfied to have received a second round pick for either Harris or Struble, particularly from a team who should still be a lottery pick in 2026. The Laine trade was a sophisticated, multi-faceted transaction which saw Hughes use several assets at his disposable (excess positional talent and available cap flexibility) in a bold effort to dramatically improve the team. The assumed risk/cost expended was low with the potential of securing a potentially high return. The very essence of adhering to the principle of an intuitive "calculated risk".

Superb, patient use of assets to fill several needs. The Habs needed a top 6 forward, scoring and to get bigger. So they transform a surplus left-side defenseman into a star forward, gain a world class sniper and get much larger in the bargain. Wow.

One of the particularly savvy aspects of the deal is that Harris was waiver eligible and would almost certainly been claimed if management attempted to send him to Laval for conditioning or any other reason. His spot can now be filled on an alternating basis by one of the waiver exempt young dmen such as Struble, Hutson, Mailloux, Reinbacher or Engstrom. These players can be easily rotated in and out of the Habs lineup, while getting used invaluable ice time in larger roles in Laval.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I'm excited to see how MSL handles Laine, could be his biggest challenge personality wise

Also happy for Armia to get another Finn

 

[SwiftyHab]

I'm excited to see how MSL handles Laine, could be his biggest challenge personality wise

Also happy for Armia to get another Finn

I actually wonder if this is possible


Laine- Dach- Armia

Laine thrives when someone can get the puck out of the corners and on his stick and Armia and Dach both do that well.

It also means we have a third line of Newhook, Roy, and Gally

 

[417]

Worst case, Laine rubs off negatively on the team culture in the Habs' dressing room. Best case, the team's positive culture rubs off on Laine.

I know we can easily bail if it doesn't work out, but what an opportunity if it does work!

If your team culture is so fragile that a single player can ruin it, it probably wasn’t strong enough to begin with.

I think a lot of people are over-thinking this (not saying you).

Laine is an extreme example of “buy low” and it just so happened that all of the factors that facilitated this “buy low” option, were in the Habs favour.

- He had/has a NTC and made his trade request public
- Big cap hit that the Blue Jackets didn’t want to eat
- Have a lot of young NHL players on cheap contracts

This deal was a too good to pass up kind of deal.

 

[GrandBison]

He just doesn’t want to go into the detail, If he didn’t have anything good to say why would they acquire him or why would they have him as a coach… If you aren’t trusting is evaluation why would you have him coach your farm team…

Laine played 18 games under Vincent in a messed year in Columbus.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Does this trade also come with Jfresh in the package? Will he be defending our players from internet nerds now?

 

[Adam Michaels]

I actually wonder if this is possible


Laine- Dach- Armia

Laine thrives when someone can get the puck out of the corners and on his stick and Armia and Dach both do that well.

It also means we have a third line of Newhook, Roy, and Gally

If it's the same Armia as the one that came up from Laval, he has what it takes to complete the Top-6. Big body, uses his body real well, is real smart with his stick, and has some real skill. 17 goals in 66 games last year (21-goal pace). Playing with skilled guys like Laine and Dach could bump his numbers.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Pure gold on La Poche Bleue, a random said Harris had more value than Reinbacher.

Just needed to say it.

Probably Andrew Jerkshire. That guy is dense.


RaPhAeL dIaZ iS a ToP 4 dMaN

 

[eklund the clown]

The way i see it we got a 2nd (probably a pick in the 30's range) for Harris .A steal in itself.We got Laine a potential 40 goal scorer for free.The Habs have everything to gain here.Laine has to prove himself.If he fails here he has zero value and his chances of landing on another team are next to none.Win win situation for all.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If your team culture is so fragile that a single player can ruin it, it probably wasn’t strong enough to begin with.

I think a lot of people are over-thinking this (not saying you).

Laine is an extreme example of “buy low” and it just so happened that all of the factors that facilitated this “buy low” option, were in the Habs favour.

- He had/has a NTC and made his trade request public
- Big cap hit that the Blue Jackets didn’t want to eat
- Have a lot of young NHL players on cheap contracts

This deal was a too good to pass up kind of deal.

Yep. We were basically paid to take him. That kind of deal makes sense.

Also, I’m glad to see that Harris will get a shot at building his career now. That wouldn’t have happened here.

Hugo has basically done everything I’ve wanted him to do so far. Dealt away vets, stockpiled picks, weaponized cap space, improved development. What’s not to like?

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Surprisingly no. Most folks think Habs got a steal. Some think the media will eat him alive. For the most part, it's been mostly reasonable posting. Very unusual.

Also most folks who talk about the pressure or the media being unbearable don't live here. Or no longer live here. There's a huge difference between the pulse inside the city compared to the media narratives that get mostly posted for a demographic outside the city for more *rural* areas.


PK subban is the perfect example , media and management did not like this guy , ask anybody in the city and they loved him , ask any kid in the city who was their favorite hab on the team at that time. Its not even close. Get roasted in the media but treated like a god from the common peasant

 

[Whalers Fan]

The way i see it we got a 2nd (probably a pick in the 30's range) for Harris .A steal in itself.We got Laine a potential 40 goal scorer for free.The Habs have everything to gain here.Laine has to prove himself.If he fails here he has zero value and his chances of landing on another team are next to none.Win win situation for all.

Agreed. This was really a no risk trade. I wasn't on board with trading for Laine if it cost any significant assets, but getting him basically for free is another matter. If he can turn things around even a little, the Habs can even trade him with salary retention at the '26 TDL and get even more assets if they decide not to re-sign him. If Laine completely flops, they are only out some salary.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Agreed. This was really a no risk trade. I wasn't on board with trading for Laine if it cost any significant assets, but getting him basically for free is another matter. If he can turn things around even a little, the Habs can even trade him with salary retention at the '26 TDL and get even more assets if they decide not to re-sign him. If Laine completely flops, they are only out some salary.

And the cap space isn’t something we need to worry about right now.

 

[Mrb1p]

Pure gold on La Poche Bleue, a random said Harris had more value than Reinbacher.

Just needed to say it.

Probably @BehindTheTimes .

Love ya bud