When Pierre-Luc Dubois apparently forced himself out of Columbus in a trade for Patrick Lane, speculation swirled between Dubois and then-Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella. Both sides said that was not the case, and while no one believed them, a new report indicates that both were truthful.
On January 23, 2021, the Jets traded forward Patrick Lane and forward Jack Roslovic to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for 2022 third round center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dubois was not working in Columbus and Lane was struggling in Winnipeg. The trade was seen as a great move, as both Lyn and Dubois were young forwards with a lot of potential. Giving each new place to shine seemed like a win-win idea for every organization.
Lin, who was drafted second overall by the Jets in 2016, continued his stint on and off again in Columbus. Sometimes he’s brilliant, other times he’s a shadow of the attention-grabbing rookie who scored 140 goals and 110 assists in 306 games with Winnipeg.
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Dubois, drafted third overall in 2016 by Columbus, scored 66 goals and 93 assists in 239 games with the Blue Team and struggled early on with the Jets. Part of the problem is that many felt he didn’t want to be there. It was reported that his heart was the Montreal Canadiens and that, eventually, he would end up with the Habs, as his stay in Winnipeg was only temporary.
It didn’t take long for Dubois to develop a solid reputation. He successfully clawed his way out of Columbus and appeared to be using the leverage he had as an RFA with arbitration rights to claw his way out of Winnipeg. What happened? Why was Dubois so unwilling to make it work in the cities he was drafted and then traded for?
DuBois felt as if he had been moved by the Blue Jackets
Currently, things are going iffy in Winnipeg. The team fights hard against the Vegas Golden Knights in their first round playoff game. Vegas is a favorite and the belief is that the Jets will go home early, possibly making some big changes in the off-season. Many take it for granted that Dubois would still end up in Montreal. But, why was he so quick to get out of Columbus?
The answer apparently is that he felt the Blue Jackets had been intentionally derailed in their pursuit of Montreal.
While appearing on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, Aaron Bortzlin Athlete Perhaps he turned his back on the Blue Jackets, Dubois said, because they were in a position to match an offer sheet from the Montreal Canadiens. When Dubois was first set to sign with the team as an RFA, it seemed his hope was that letting the Blue Jackets know he would like to be traded to the Canadiens would lead to a deal. The Canadians wanted him and were prepared to make an offer sheet in the summer if the trade never materialized. Columbus knew this, so they made a couple of trade-offs to make sure they had the cap space needed to match any bid and keep Dubois from becoming Canadian.
Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen made a couple of trades in the final hours before the free agent market opened that year and it appears Dubois may have taken that personally. He felt that this was done to ensure that the Blue Jackets could match a long-term offer from Montreal and that it would keep Dubois a Blue Jackets asset for years. It stopped the outstanding bid sheet in its tracks and with it Montreal’s active interest in the future. The Habs knew if they didn’t massively overpay Dubois they wouldn’t get it and they knew if they offered a fair value they wouldn’t get it either. They chose to reconsider the idea of Dubois becoming a member of their team as well.
The thing about offer sheets, Portzline explained, is that, since a team is keeping a player who is about to get one, you don’t usually want players to sign him and just get hung up on the compensation that comes with salary rates. Not only that, but you want to make any team consider displaying what they think you have the ability and match preparation. Columbus scared off Montreal and Bortzlin believes the relationship between Dubois and the Jackets management changed as a result.
From that point on, Dubois immediately made it clear that he would not stay long in Columbus and this led to a trade with Winnipeg.
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