The Pierre-Luc Dubois saga with the Winnipeg Jets appears likely to end this summer with a trade. Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic write that it appears that the young forward will submit a list of teams that he is willing to sign with long-term, and it will be up to the Jets to determine if any of those organizations are willing to make a move. In the meantime, Dubois’ agent, Pat Brisson, could begin talking to those teams to setup a framework for a potential long-term extension.
While this is not an ideal situation for Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, it does give him the opportunity to have serious negotiations with teams that can plug Dubois into their lineup long-term, hopefully maximizing the return for Winnipeg.
Jeff Marek acknowledged on his show Thursday that the Montreal Canadiens are high on Dubois' wish list, and The Athletic article even mentioned that the Canadiens called Winnipeg after the season ended. While there does seem to be a fit for a trade between Montreal and Winnipeg, there will be plenty of other interested suitors. Players like Dubois don’t come on the market all that often, and even an eight-year contract will only carry Dubois into his age-33 season, meaning that he should be very productive throughout the life on any long-term deal.
The Athletic article also mentions that Dubois is willing to be flexible depending on the situation, meaning that he will take a discount to go to a Cup contender but would want his full freight if he goes to a rebuilding club.
The situation is not unlike the sign-and-trade of Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames last summer. Tkachuk signed his eight-year deal with Calgary and was then quickly dealt to the Florida Panthers for a large haul that was universally praised at the time. Winnipeg could maximize the return by working out a similar situation with Dubois, allowing both sides to leave the relationship happy with the end result.
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