Laine signs four-year, $34.8 million contract with Blue Jackets
Forward was restricted free agent, had 56 points in 56 games last season
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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.
"Right after the season, they said that they want me here and for me, this is the place I want to keep playing," Laine said Saturday. "I'm just happy it's done now and I don't have to worry about that for the next four years and just get the focus on getting ready for this year and just enjoying myself.
"I obviously wanted to get this done and obviously want to say thank you to ownership and management and all these guys involved for trusting me for the next four years. Couldn't be more excited right now."
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.
"One of our priorities this summer was signing Patrik Laine to a contract extension," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Friday. "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."
RELATED: [2022-23 NHL Free Agent Tracker | Laine 'pumped' Columbus signed Gaudreau]
Laine had a bounce-back season after scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 46 games for the Blue Jackets and Jets in 2020-21, the first time in his NHL career he hadn't scored at least 28 goals and 50 points.
"He was dominant at times this year and he can do so many things and he's big and he's got the reach," Kekalainen said Saturday. "Everybody talks about the shot but I think he's passing skills are underrated and we expect him to grow with our group. That's the thing. This doesn't mean that he's arrived anywhere. It just means that expectations are going to rise and I'm sure he is the first one to say that he's got much bigger expectations for himself."
Laine has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"I think we saw the real potential that he has and he's a young player still, so we believe in his growth still," Kekalainen said. "I think the term is real smart both for us and for him. He's going to get another kick at it when he's 28-year-old and we get a player in his prime for the years that we're doing right now. If everything goes as planned, we'll be looking at extending him again."
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.
"Like I said to Jarmo when they signed Johnny, I told them, I don't think I've ever been this excited to play hockey with this kind of guy. Excited to get the season going. … It's so exciting to get that kind of player on your team. He can help us in so many ways."
Laine said he hopes to be linemates with Gaudreau but knows that isn't up to him.
"That's up to coach Brad Larsen] but obviously hopefully I'll get the chance to play with him," Laine said. "I think we could compliment each other pretty well on the ice, but I guess we'll see."
Columbus [also traded forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Seattle Kraken on Friday for a third- and fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
"We had not planned or counted on getting Johnny Gaudreau and that changed everything," Kekalainen said. "So had we'd been able to sort of count on it and plan it, we would have obviously been in a better position to make some of these moves ahead of time so that we didn't get squeezed but once an opportunity like that came up in front of us and we knew that it was real, we just had to get it done. You just can't pass on a player like that."
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers and independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report
