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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterAug 19, 2024, 08:18 PM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
The Columbus Blue Jackets traded Patrik Laine and a 2026 second-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday in exchange for defenseman Jordan Harris. No salary was retained by the Blue Jackets in the transaction as Montreal took on all of the remaining two years of Laine’s contract.
Which GM did better in the swap? Here are our grades:
Canadiens grade: A-
This is a superb move for the Canadiens. Laine has potential to bring the firepower Montreal has been lacking and give its offense a much-needed veteran boost. Grabbing a second-round draft pick to go along with him makes the deal even sweeter and gives the Canadiens further flexibility to wheel and deal or stock the cupboards over the next several months.
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Laine is the real focus, though. While Montreal’s young stars like Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki have been admirably holding up their end of the bargain with high-end contributions up front, the Canadiens required depth contributors, and Laine should easily help fill that void. The biggest struggle for Laine has been staying healthy and maintaining his consistency, though. Nearly every season of his career has presented Laine with injury challenges offsetting his ability to be the kind of game-changer he set out to be when entering the league as a second overall pick in 2016. So, there is some risk here for Montreal in having him on board, especially after Laine was limited to just 18 games last season through being hurt and spending time in the NHL’s Player Assistance Program. Laine has two seasons remaining on his current deal with an $8.7 million annual cap hit, something the Canadiens (unlike many clubs) had the space to take on entirely.
But there’s no question that when Laine’s rolling, he has the scoring prowess (and six 20-plus goal seasons under his belt) and talent to create chances off the rush that should elevate…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/40922595/nhl-trade-grade-2024-patrik-laine-canadiens-blue-jackets-draft-picks
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-08-22 21:39:57
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