With Jordan Harris’ season officially coming to an end when Northeastern wasn’t invited to the road to the Frozen Four, the focus immediately turned to his NHL future. He decided that he’s happy where he is with the Habs announcing he’ll remain in college for his senior season.
The announcement comes as somewhat of a surprise considering that the Canadiens were reportedly willing to burn the first year of his entry-level deal this season. Even with a two-week quarantine, he still would have had a chance to get in some game action with Montreal or Laval.
It was a bit of an odd season for the 20-year-old who was picked 71st overall back in 2019. The pandemic limited Harris to just 19 games but he made the most of them, picking up six goals and 13 assists in that span. However, a good chunk of those points came with the man advantage and against weaker opponents so it may not be a sign of significant offensive improvement although it’s hard to complain about those numbers.
In their announcement, the Habs stated that Harris “remains totally committed to the Montreal Canadiens for the future” although the temptation to test the market will be bigger next year. Montreal retains his rights through August 15, 2022 so if he wanted to hit free agency, he’d have to wait that long before he could sign anywhere.
His 2021-22 campaign will end in either late March or early April depending on how Northeastern performs. Montreal will still have the ability to offer Harris the chance to burn the first year of his deal in 21-22 and will likely do so to try to entice him to sign. This decision doesn’t make it a guarantee that he’ll leave the organization but the possibility is much greater now than it was just a few days ago.