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Blue Jackets Coach Confirms Dubois Trade Talk, How He’ll Handle It

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has confirmed trade speculation surrounding Pierre-Luc Dubois. And, how he’ll handle it.

Aaron Portzline broke the story that Pierre-Luc Dubois still wanted out of Columbus after he signed a two-year extension to stay. Now, he’s reporting that that the Blue Jackets head coach has confirmed the speculation and that the team has a way in which they plan to handle things moving forward.

Related: Bruins Kicking Tires on Pierre-Luc Dubois Trade [Rumor]

According to Portzline, head coach John Tortorella says “Pierre-Luc Dubois’ desire for a trade will be handled similarly, in one respect, to how Bobrovsky / Panarin played out two seasons ago.: He adds, “They’ll confront it as a group and deal with it out in the open.”

Needless to say, if there was ever any doubt that the rumors of Dubois wanting out were accurate, this report seems to confirm it. That the Blue Jackets feel a need to do more than say, ‘the reports aren’t true’ or have Dubois say, ‘Nah guys, I’m not going anywhere’, means a trade talk must be lingering in the background.

Portzline adds that Cam Atkinson said he’s already spoken with Pierre-Luc Dubois. But, with Dubois’ two-year contract just signed, says “we’ll treat him like a teammate.”

Are There Conflicting Stories Here?

What’s interesting about all of this is that Jeff Svoboda, the man behind the official account for the Columbus Blue Jackets and team reporter writes, “Jarmo Kekalainen describes negotiations with Pierre-Luc Dubois as “really smooth” and says the team had deals of two years, three years and eight years on the table.”

Pierre-Luc-Dubois-Scores-To-Bring-Blue-Jackets-All-The-Way-Back-From-3-0-Deficit-vs.-Maple-Leafs
Pierre-Luc-Dubois-Scores-To-Bring-Blue-Jackets-All-The-Way-Back-From-3-0-Deficit-vs.-Maple-Leafs

Clearly, the Blue Jackets seem to want to send the message that there is little to no friction between the two sides, while the coach seems to confirm the fact that rumors of a trade request are hanging over this team and that if the club doesn’t address it immediately, it could become a distraction.

Of course, it may be too late as rumors of teams already expressing early interest in Dubois are out there, including a report from Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now on Saturday that the Bruins have poked around.

As for what Dubois has said on the speculation: “Our goal was to get a contract before camp. The team, my agent, and myself have held private talks and they’ll remain private.”

Next: Edmonton Oilers Special Team’s Choices? Nugent-Hopkins with McDavid or Draisaitl?

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