A massive trade went down in the NHL on Monday, as multiple reports indicated the Montreal Canadiens acquired Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Montreal also acquired a 2026 second-round draft pick in the deal while sending defenseman Jordan Harris back to Columbus.
On paper, the trade should benefit all parties.
While the Blue Jackets shed $7.3 million in cap space and bring in a young defenseman as they once again hit restart on their rebuild, the Canadiens bolstered their roster with a former second-overall pick with an elite-quality shot.
Most importantly, Laine gets a fresh start on his career after spending much of last season in the NHLPA player assistance program for treating his mental health.
It’s not just those involved in the trade who are benefitting from Laine joining the Canadiens, as the Boston Bruins are indirectly reaping the reward of the deal made by one of their top rivals.
Prior to acquiring Laine, Montreal was one of only a handful of teams capable of placing an offer sheet on Bruins restricted free-agent goalie Jeremy Swayman. Now, the Canadiens no longer can afford to do so.
Based on what other top players at his position make, Swayman is expected to sign a contract somewhere in the range of $7.75 million to as much as $10 million per season. After taking on Laine’s salary, the Canadiens are a projected $2 million over the NHL’s salary cap, according to Puckpedia, effectively taking themselves out of the Swayman sweepstakes.
It’s not as if the Bruins had much to worry about in the first place, though.
Teams rarely place offer sheets on restricted free agents because doing so can often lead to retribution down the line.
Montreal learned this firsthand in 2019 when they could only watch as Jesperi Kotkeniemi joined the Carolina Hurricanes on an offer sheet they couldn’t match after they tried to place one on Carolina star Sebastian Aho the year prior.
Any team that attempts to place one on Swayman now risks the Bruins doing the same. But even then, most of the teams that are still theoretically capable of handing Swayman an offer sheet have one thing or another standing in their way.
Leave a Reply