The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forward Luke Tuch from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Hunter McKown, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced today.
Tuch, 24, has spent his first two full professional seasons with the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket, registering 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points with 122 penalty minutes and a +8 plus/minus rating in 114 games. Last season, he notched 9-5-14, 82 PIM and was +3 in 68 outings with the club.
"Luke is a big, physical player with great character and a strong work ethic who adds size, strength and toughness to our organizational depth at the forward position,” said Waddell.
The 6-2, 219-pound winger was a second-round pick, 47th overall, of the Canadiens in the 2020 NHL Draft. He played four seasons at Boston University from 2020-24, serving as an alternate captain during his junior and senior campaigns. He tallied 31-40-71, 59 PIM and was +32 in 121 career games with the Terriers, including a career-high 10-20-30, 10 PIM and was +17 in 39 games as a senior in 2023-24.
He was a Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection in 2020-21 after collecting 6-5-11 and 12 PIM in 16 games and helped BU capture regular season and Hockey East Tournament championships in 2022-23 with 9-11-20 and 21 PIM in 40 contests. The Syracuse, New York native played for Team USA at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championships, tallying 1-0-1 and two PIM in four games. He also played for the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2018-20.
McKown, 23, tallied 0-2-2 and eight PIM in 12 games with the Blue Jackets in 2022-23 after signing with the club as a free agent on Mar. 20, 2023. He appeared in 184 career AHL games with the Cleveland Monsters, collecting 31-49-80 and 98 PIM from 2023-26.
