Jordan Harris agrees with the Canadiens

Jordan Harris was loyal to his university by spending his four years there. He also remained loyal to the team that drafted him.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

The defender has signed a two-year deal with the Canadiens, the team announced on Saturday.

It is not yet clear when he will join the team, which heads to the United States immediately after Saturday’s game for a four-game journey.

That said, even if he finds his new teammates abroad, it is not guaranteed that he will play during the trip. As is the case with Justin Barron this week, the team intends to take its time and not rush its arrival in the NHL, especially since Montreal will meet the Panthers, Hurricanes and Lightning, teams inconvenient.

Harris saw his college career come to an end on Friday when the Northeastern Huskies were eliminated by Western Michigan at the NCAA national championship. The player claimed on 3^and tour by the Habs in 2018 could therefore agree with the team. However, he had the option to wait until May 31, 2022; this is when CH’s rights over him would have expired. He would then have had the opportunity to sign with the club of his choice, come summer.

But like Jake Evans in 2018, Harris got along with the team that drafted him.

“His three main criteria were the style of play, the potential opportunities and, quite simply, what his instinct told him,” summarized Eric Quinlan, the agent at Forward Hockey who took care, along with Nick Martino, of his file. The most important thing is that he always believed in himself. They also believed in him, because they fished him out. He is really looking forward to helping the team. »

That said, even if it was the Canadiens who selected it, there have been so many changes that it is practically a new club. We can also wonder if the cleanup in management did not facilitate his arrival in Montreal.

The pandemic didn’t help, but Harris hadn’t had tons of contact with Marc Bergevin. Last month, Harris told us he mainly remembers a virtual meeting with Bergevin and Claude Julien in February 2021, a few days before Julien was fired. A month later, rumors were swirling that Harris was going to make the leap to the pros, but it’s unclear where those echoes came from. At the Canadian, we said they were convinced that he was coming, while the clan of the young man maintains that the plan was to stay at the university.

He is of course familiar with the new organization, since he plays with the sons of Kent Hughes (Riley and Jack) as well as with the son of Martin St-Louis, Ryan. Hughes also coached Harris in minor hockey.

His skating, a cardinal value of the new administration, is one of his strengths. We will have to ask the young man the question in time and place, but we can guess that this orientation of the Gorton/Hughes administration, less focused on robustness than the old regime, must have pleased him.

Harris shoots from the left. He can play both sides, but that was also the talk about Alexander Romanov when he arrived. However, the Russian has played very little on the right flank since his arrival in North America. If he remains on the right, Harris will find himself behind Romanov and Joel Edmundson in the hierarchy, and the young Kaiden Guhle, choice of 1^er tour of the CH in 2020, is also left-handed.

A year gone by

The deal, which begins this season, will earn Harris $750,000 annually and includes a signing bonus of $92,500 each year. If he plays in the American League, Harris will earn $70,000 per season.

If this isn’t a typical entry-level three-year deal, it’s because of Harris’ age on Sept. 15. He will then be 22 years old, and the collective agreement provides for shorter recruit contracts from this age.

He will be eligible for a new contract in the summer of 2023.

Harris had 73 points in 129 games on the US college circuit. These statistics recall what is often said about him: he does not necessarily have the potential of a great attacking defender.

“He’s a very good skater, he defends himself with his feet,” Martin St-Louis said of him on Saturday morning. And he has a little physical side. Because of his speed, he can take the right angle on guys. He has a small offensive side, we will see how he will progress in the NHL. But his skating is very elite. »

Rather unusual, Harris signed his contract at Northeastern University. “It was his initiative. He wanted to do it with his teammates and his coaches,” explained his agent, Eric Quinlan.