The Blue Jackets received a 2026 second-round pick in addition to Harris and will not retain any of Laine’s salary in the deal. Laine, 26, has two years left on his contract worth $8.7 million annually. Laine’s future with the Blue Jackets had been in question for quite some time. The speculation further intensified last week when Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell told TSN 1050 in Toronto that Laine was vocal about not wanting to play for the Blue Jackets anymore.
Waddell reiterated Laine’s desire to leave in a statement released at the time of the trade.
“We want players that want to be Blue Jackets and Patrik made it clear that he thought a change of scenery was best for him,” Waddell said. “We were able to acquire a good young player in Jordan Harris while maintaining financial flexibility in this deal which was very important to us. We wish Patrik all the best.”
Back in 2016, the Winnipeg Jets drafted Laine with the No. 2 pick and watched him score 80 goals in his first two seasons. He spent four full seasons with the Jets before he was traded to the Blue Jackets just one game into the 2020-21 season.
Laine, a hulking 6-foot-5 winger, had consecutive 20-goal seasons in 2021-22 and in 2022-23.
What ultimately became his final season in Columbus saw him miss nine games in October and November after being diagnosed with a concussion. He also missed three games in December before entering the NHL/NHL Players’ Association player assistance program in late January for an indefinite period.
Laine had six goals and nine points in 18 games before he was admitted into the player assistance program.
He now heads to Montreal, where he’s expected to play a major role in helping a young Canadiens roster that is seeking to take the next step in its evolution.
Ever since they lost the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, the Canadiens have been on a rebuild that has seen them miss the playoffs for three straight seasons but make strides under head coach and Hall of Fame winger Martin St. Louis.
St. Louis, who was hired in February 2022, has molded a young roster that went from 68 points in his first full season to finishing with 76 points in 2023-24, creating the belief that an 80-point season could be within reach.
While the Canadiens have built a strong group of young forwards, they’ve also drafted and developed defensemen. They’ve used homegrown talents such as Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj and Harris as part of their plans over the past few seasons with more talents such as former Boston University star Lane Hutson also joining the team.
Having a top-four defensive setup that features veterans Mike Matheson and David Savard along with Guhle and Hutson meant the Canadiens were able to move on from Harris, as they had other defensemen in the system who could challenge for a bottom-pairing role.
Now Harris joins a Blue Jackets defensive corps that includes Erik Gudbranson, David Jiricek, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson and Werenski as the club seeks to improve on a 66-point season that saw it finish with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-fewest points in the NHL in 2023-24.
DENVER — The Colorado Rockies have put closer Seth Halvorsen on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain after he had to leave Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh.
Interim manager Warren Schaeffer said at the time the injury didn’t look good — following the right-hander’s exit after throwing five pitches in the ninth inning. Halvorsen leads the Rockies with 11 saves.
Colorado also recalled right-hander Nick Anderson and catcher Braxton Fulford from Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday, and the Rockies optioned infielder Michael Toglia to Albuquerque.
The 25-year-old Halvorsen is 1-2 with a 4.99 ERA this year. He made his big league debut in August of 2024.
Misiorowski told reporters that he anticipates missing about two starts and being ready to go after the 15 days. The IL move is retroactive to Thursday.
The right-hander took a liner to the shin off the bat of the Chicago Cubs‘ Seiya Suzuki in the first inning of his last start Monday. Later in the inning, after fielding a dribbler in front of the mound, Misiorowski’s knee buckled as he threw wildly to first and two runners scored.
The 23-year-old Misiorowski stayed in the game, pitching three more innings before coming out after 80 pitches.
Misiorowski is 4-1 with 47 strikeouts in 33⅓ innings this season.
In a related move, the Brewers recalled right-hander Logan Henderson from Triple-A Nashville, and he is expected to start against the Nationals on Sunday.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — It was a red flag for Major League Baseball at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
The Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds was suspended in the first inning because of rain, soaking a record-breaking crowd for the first regular-season game in Tennessee. The plan is to resume the game on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The first delay at the historic bullring of a racetrack came after the ceremonial first pitch featuring a pair of Hall of Famers in Johnny Bench and Chipper Jones, joined by NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. The second with one out in the bottom of the first led to the game being pushed back a day.
Fans who stuck out the first delay of 2 hours, 17 minutes started heading toward the exits before the game was postponed with the Reds holding a 1-0 lead.
It was an unwelcome detour for the long-planned event mixing baseball and NASCAR.
“We’re going to suspend tonight’s game. … We are optimistic for a better weather forecast for tomorrow,” Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, told Fox.
The rain made life difficult on the players before the suspension. A bat flew out of TJ Friedl‘s hands as he led off for the Reds. A pitcher seemed to catch his footing going to cover first base.
The Speedway Classic was announced nearly a year ago as part of commissioner Rob Manfred’s push to take MLB to places where baseball isn’t played every day live. MLB played a game at the “Field of Dreams” movie site in Iowa in 2021 and 2022. Games have been held in Alabama and North Carolina too.
Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott showed up Saturday afternoon at Bristol wearing a cutoff version of a NASCAR race suit. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Abbott said he wanted something to wear in for a special game.
“I grew up around NASCAR,” Abbott said. “Just went on eBay and found a couple options, and luckily that was the one that arrived in time. I had a couple of backups. I know who Rusty Wallace is too, so I actually do know the backstory behind it.”
Long before the fans departed in the rain, they were entertained by a 110-foot Ferris wheel along with food trucks, live music, pitching tunnels and batting cages. Fans also had a chance for photos with the Commissioner’s Trophy and Clydesdales outside the historic racetrack.
Inside, star Tim McGraw performed and was joined by Pitbull.
Before the weather moved over the area, players stood in the back of pickup trucks with their numbers emblazoned on the side and rode around the half-mile racetrack. Some used their phones to document the moment. For introductions, the Braves and Reds walked between a pair of cars decked out in Atlanta and Cincinnati colors.
Then the tarp came out as rain that had been falling around Bristol much of Saturday turned heavy and delayed the start.
The first delay led to the Braves switching starting pitchers. Spencer Strider, who grew up in nearby Knoxville, got a bigger ovation than Reds starter Chase Burns, who is from Hendersonville and played at the University of Tennessee. The Reds stuck with Burns despite the delay.
Strider warmed up. The Braves chose not to risk his third start in this situation coming off a second elbow surgery and turned to Austin Cox.
The rain stopped long enough to take off the tarp and start the game.
Michael Waltrip, who raced plenty at Bristol, restarted the festivities by quoting his brother Darrell: “Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let’s play baseball, boys!”
Atlanta went down in order in the top of the first inning. But there was another rain delay after Austin Hays hit an RBI single for Cincinnati in the bottom half.
MLB didn’t try to sell every ticket inside the speedway that drew 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol college football game in 2016. The track with a racing capacity of 146,000 could host 90,000 or more even with sections blocked off.
Officials announced Monday that more than 85,000 tickets had been sold, topping the previous paid attendance of 84,587 set Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.
A batter has to clear 400 feet to hit anything out of center field, 375 in the alleys and 330 down each baseline. Pulling a ball down the line raises the prospect of a ball bouncing off the racetrack beyond the outfield wall.
“Honestly, my first thought: I can’t believe they did all this for one game,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said of his first visit to Bristol. “To be able to set all this up, get a playing surface ready, set the stands up in order to have the proper viewing, it’s pretty incredible.”