Maxime Lajoie

Maxime Lajoie (born November 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lajoie was chosen 133rd overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life
Lajoie was born in Quebec City and moved to Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario and then Calgary, Alberta by the age of seven. His first language is French but is now bilingual.

Junior career
Lajoie played major junior hockey for the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2013 to 2017. He was drafted by the Broncos, 95th overall, in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. Lajoie played one game in 2013–14 and earned a roster spot in 2014–15. He increased his points per game over his three seasons with the Broncos. He returned to Swift Current as an alternate captain for his final season in junior.

Professional career
Lajoie was selected by the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in his first season of eligibility, going 133rd overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft. Lajoie's coach until 2016, former Senator Mark Lamb, considered the selection of Lajoie a "steal" at 133rd overall, noting he was the team's No. 1 penalty killer, No. 1 shut-down defenceman and assistant captain. Lajoie signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Senators on October 3, 2016, and attended their training camp,

In 2017, he became a professional, joining the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) in September 2017. In November 2017, Lajoie was assigned to the Brampton Beast of the ECHL, returning to Belleville after one game at Brampton. In 2018, Lajoie made the jump to the NHL, earning a roster spot in training camp. He made his NHL debut on October 4, 2018, scoring a goal and an assist in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Lajoie became the second Ottawa defenceman (after Wade Redden) to score in his NHL debut.

After attending the Senators training camp for the delayed 2020–21 season, on January 12, 2021, Lajoie was traded by Ottawa to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Clark Bishop. He was directly assigned by the Hurricanes to join AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. On August 6, 2022 the Hurricanes re-signed Lajoie's to an additional one-year contract.

Following three seasons with the Hurricanes organization, Lajoie left as an unrestricted free agent and agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, 2023. He attended the Maple Leafs 2023 training camp, but failed to make the team and was placed on waivers. After going unclaimed Lajoie was assigned to the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies to start the 2023–24 season. He was recalled by the Maple Leafs on November 4 after an injury to Timothy Liljegren and made his season debut against the Buffalo Sabres that night. He was returned to the Marlies on November 9. He spent the majority of the season with the Marlies, appearing in 56 games, scoring 4 goals and 24 points. He also appeared in seven games with the Maple Leafs, registering one assist.

An unrestricted free agent in the offseason, Lajoie signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Seattle Kraken on July 1, 2024.