The Columbus Blue Jackets and RFA Patrik Laine have come to terms on a new 4yr/$34.8M contract extension the club announced.
With Friday’s 5pm ET deadline to accept qualifying offers looming, the 24 year old and Columbus were able to get a deal done to keep the talented forward in Ohio through the 2025-26 season.
Originally taken 2nd overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 NHL entry draft, Laine was packaged with centre Jack Roslovic in a trade with the Blue Jackets which saw Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 3rd round pick head back to Winnipeg.
The Finnish forward was a point a game player for the Blue Jackets last year as he recorded 56pts (26G, 30A) in 56 games during the 2021-22 campaign. Laine’s $8.7M AAV makes him the second highest paid player on Columbus trailing only Johnny Gaudreau who was signed in free agency.
“One of our priorities this summer was signing Patrik Laine to a contract extension. He is a special player, one of the truly elite goal scorers in the National Hockey League, and he has fit in extremely well with our group since his arrival,” said GM Jarmo Kekalainen. “He is an integral part of the team we are building in Columbus, and we couldn’t be happier that he will continue to be a Blue Jacket for the foreseeable future.”
Laine had been playing on a 1yr/$7.5M contract with the Blue Jackets, with his new deal taking him into his age 28 season where he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
Columbus finished with a 37-38-7 record in 2021-22, good for 81pts, but well back of playoff contention. The Blue Jackets made 4 consecutive postseason appearances between 2016 and 2020, however have missed out on the playoffs the last two years.
Photo: Don Bigileone. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.