Rumor: Jordan Harris rejects contract offer from the Habs.

The Montreal Canadiens were hit with a huge shock on Monday morning and now there is real concern about the future of one of their top prospects.

On Monday the Canadiens announced that defenseman Jordan Harris, the team's 3rd round pick (71st overall) at the 2018 National Hockey League Entry Draft, will not be signing with the team and instead has made the decision to continue his hockey career at Northeastern University. The official press release from the Habs attempted to spin this as a mutual decision from both parties, but there is now serious concern among the Canadiens fan base in regards to why this decision was made.

"Jordan remains totally committed to the Montreal Canadiens for the future," read the Habs press release.

The problem here for the Canadiens is that Harris will now be able to head to free agency after the end of his next campaign with Northeastern University and there have been examples in recent years of draft picks refusing to sign with their team and instead opting to free agency. One of the most notable examples in recent history was that of former Nashville Predators draft pick Jimmy Vesey, a player that opted to wait out the Predators control over his rights and instead signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent.

Harris is coming off of his best offensive season in college hockey, recording 6 goals and 13 assists for a combined 19 points over 19 games with the school last season, and there's little doubt that other teams around the league have likely taken notice. Harris can become a free agent in 2022 and in spite of what the Canadiens are saying right now, I think fans in Montreal should prepare themselves for the possibility that Harris may choose to go the free agency route rather than signing with Montreal.

It's worth noting that Harris is from Haverhill, Massachusetts and that could be playing a factor here for a few reasons. The first and most obvious is that growing up a fan of the Bruins could have given him a relatively negative opinion of the Canadiens franchise, and the other is the ongoing issues created by the pandemic. Playing for a Canadian team would effectively prevent him from traveling outside of the country for an entire season if things continue the way they have this year. Being away from family for such an extended period of time may not appeal to a young man who in theory should have other options available to him.