After months of rumors, the Columbus Blue Jackets have finally traded Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens in a massive deal.

In breaking news, the renowned insider Elliotte Friedman wrote on X that there was traction for a Laine trade to Montreal:

Then, Renaud Lavoie, another insider, made the following statement:

The Columbus Blue Jackets made things official with a statement:

“The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenseman Jordan Harris from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Patrik Laine and a 2026 second-round selection, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced today.

“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,” said Waddell. “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.»”

The Canadiens have a reputation for going after players in need of a fresh start. In the past seasons, Kent Hughes pulled the trigger on multiple trades that support this theory, such as the deals involving Sean Monahan and Kirby Dach.

Laine cleared the NHL, NHLPA’s players assistance program earlier in the offseason after a complicated 2023-24 season with the Blue Jackets that saw the 6’5″ forward being limited to 18 games.

With Martin St-Louis as head coach, Laine could be in a position to have great success with the Montreal Canadiens. If he gets a role on the top six, with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, he could be on his way to beating his career-high total of 70 points, which he had in 2017-18 with the Winnipeg Jets.

However, the biggest challenge for Laine will be to adapt to Montreal’s tough market. If he can handle that, he could become a fan favorite.

Source for Patrik Laine’s statistics: NHL.com