This offseason just keeps on getting better for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Less than two weeks after adding NHL’s top free agent Johnny Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets also managed to hold on to their own star Patrik Laine.
According to the Blue Jackets’ official announcement, Laine, who was a restricted free agent, inked a four-year, $34.8 million contract. The extension, which comes with an $8.7 million annual salary, now keeps the 24-year-old player in Columbus through the 2025-26 NHL season.
The Blue Jackets’ general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement that signing Laine to a contract extension was one of the franchise’s priorities this summer.
“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 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, who made an All-Star team as a rookie in 2017, spent the first four seasons of his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets. He was one of the Jets’ better players during that time, but despite this, the former second overall pick was traded to the Jackets at the start of the 2020-21 season.
Laine has 407 NHL games to his name, in which he scored 176 goals and added 151 assists.
