Patrik Laine signed a four-year, $34.8 million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. It has an average annual value of $8.7 million.
The 24-year-old forward, who was a restricted free agent, had 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists) in 56 games for the Blue Jackets last season.
“One of our priorities this summer was signing Patrik Laine to a contract extension,” Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “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. 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.”
Selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Laine has 327 points (176 goals, 151 assists) in 407 regular-season games for the Blue Jackets and Jets. He has scored at least 25 goals in five of his six NHL seasons.
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Laine has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
It’s the second big contract handed out by the Blue Jackets this offseason. On July 13, they signed forward Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract.
That same day, general manager Kekalainen said the Gaudreau contract would not prohibit the Blue Jackets from re-signing Laine.
“It changes nothing,” he said. “We are still going to try to sign him to a long-term contract just like we’ve talked about before. Now we just have to get back to work with him and resolve this. We want to keep them both, and we want to keep them both for the long term.”
Columbus also traded forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Seattle Kraken on Friday for a third- and fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
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