The panel of Hockey Night in Canada’s Headlines segment got into a discussion about Pierre-Luc Dubois on Saturday night and it was agreed by most of the hockey insiders that the Columbus Blue Jackets will likely trade Dubois. It was also agreed that the team will take their time in doing so and that both are comfortable with that… for now.
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Elliotte Friedman discussed how many teams might be in on Dubois trade talks and said there was a lot of chatter that the Montreal Canadiens were heavily rumored to be interested before the 2020-21 season started. But, once the season got underway, it seemed fairly clear that the Blue Jackets were going to wait and see how the season went before making a deal that would send Dubois elsewhere. It is assumed Columbus will take the same approach with other NHL clubs.
Chris Johnston agreed and said that there’s a “comfort level” between the two sides (Dubois and the Blue Jackets), even though a trade is the most likely outcome. Dubois has agreed to play for the team as this situation is resolved and he’s getting first-line minutes. He’s not an easy player to replace and Johnston doesn’t think any deal will include futures.
Dubois Hasn’t Been Terribly Productive
What’s interesting is that through a couple of games, Dubois hasn’t registered on the scoresheet and is a +/- -3. It’s not assumed this lack of production will continue, but it will be interesting to see how the story changes if a few more games go by and he’s not contributing.
Head coach John Tortorella already discussed publicly the fact that Dubois wants out and wasn’t sure how it would affect his ability to coach him moving forward. It doesn’t sound like Tortorella will have a lot of patience for the talented center if he doesn’t start hitting the back of the net.
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