|
In Hainsight: Not the End of the World |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
According to many insiders including TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, the Los Angeles Kings are still trying to work out a deal with the Winnipeg Jets to acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois and sign a long-term deal with the center. If rumors are to be believed, the Dubois clan is after a 9 million a year contract and as I’ve said previously, I really think that’s too high a number for him.
The likely high cost of the extension and the package of assets that the Jets are probably after to trade him may just make his acquisition an impossible endeavor for the Canadiens. Hughes can’t speak about the other teams’ players but the way he has answered questions in the past, it’s clear that he could have been interested in Dubois but not at any cost. He’s said it time and time again, the goal is to build a perennial contender and not just to improve the team in the short term.
There have been rumors that getting his rights from Winnipeg would have meant giving them Kirby Dach and a first-round pick this year, would that have made sense for the team? Trading a young center whose ceiling is not yet known for another center and letting go of a first-round pick which could be important in the rebuild considering the high level of talent available in this year’s draft. Would pulling the trigger on that deal have made sense for the Canadiens? I don’t believe so.
I believe Pat Brisson when he says that Dubois would like to play in Montreal, but it’s just one of the places where he would like to play. By telling the Jets that not only did he not want to sign a long-term extension with them, but that he wasn’t even willing to sign a one-year deal to play out his last RFA year, Dubois has forced the Jets to trade him. He’s given them a list of teams for which he would like to play and with whom he could sign an extension.
Let’s be honest here, for Winnipeg to get any kind of interesting return here, there needs to be an extension in place for Dubois, no-one’s going to throw assets at the Jets without knowing if Dubois will be willing to stick around long-term. I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to say that Dubois has used the Canadiens to get a bigger deal elsewhere since he’s not free to negotiate with other teams right now, but it sounds to me like if he really wanted to end up in Montreal, he would have had to hang in there and play one last year in Winnipeg to reach unrestricted free agency, then, the Jets might have given him a one-year deal and flip him at the deadline before he became free as a bird in July 2024.
Perhaps things are just so bad in Winnipeg with so many players asking to jump ship that he just couldn’t see himself playing there for one more season, or maybe he’s had enough of moving around and wants to sign a long term deal somewhere to settle down and start a family, who knows…but whatever the reason, Dubois just couldn’t wait to get out of Winnipeg and considering the likely price tag to both get him out of there and sign him long-term, I have no problem with Kent Hughes deciding to pass on him, if that is what he does in the end. Some might just feel a pinch though if the Kings do end up getting Dubois, especially since they've also got Danault down the middle.
Insiders can report what they want, but until a deal is made, nothing is set in stone and let’s face it, Hughes is very good at keeping his hand close to his chest, he could still be in on Dubois and no one would know. Remember the Dach trade at last draft, it came out of left field, there were no rumors, no noise and bam! On the biggest stage of them all on the draft floor the GM struck, that’s what I expect from him once more, something that will surprise us…. Is it Wednesday night yet?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»