Dubois’ short leash tightened by Tortorella
Pierre-luc Dubois is 22 years old and a budding NHL star. He could have owned this city but, instead, he has demanded the Blue Jackets trade him. Why? It's clear now his problem is with coach John Tortorella.
Dubois escalated the hostilities when he pulled a Jeff Carter poison pill and quit on his teammates. It happened during the home opener at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night. The visitors were the Tampa Bay Lightning, a newfound rival and the defending Stanley Cup champions. It was a spectacle.
Dubois skated five shifts totaling 3 minutes, 55 seconds in the first period and didn't break a sweat. In his final twirl, he floated around, disengaged from contact and took nearly 10 seconds to lollygag his way to the bench. Off-ice referees get more exercise.
During one television timeout, while both teams gathered on their respective benches, Dubois took a spin on the ice, like he was at recess. At a time when his mates were huddled up, he consciously separated himself. Presumably, he thinks disassociation is his fastest path out of town.
Tortorella is 62 years old and has a Stanley Cup ring (and, ironically, is a dog lover). He is the winningest American coach in the history of the NHL. He is a stickler for playing “the right way” — and he is more pointed with his stickling when it comes to younger players, regardless of where they were taken in the draft.
Tortorella benched Dubois, his topline center, for the final 40-plus minutes of the home opener, against the defending Stanley Cup champions, in a game that was being aired to a national audience on NHL Network. That's the coach making a statement.
Tortorella said it was an easy decision for him. By inference, he did not think that Dubois could make a difference in what turned out to be a 3-2 overtime loss to the best team in the league. The coach thought the team was better off playing shorthanded for the last 44plus minutes.
The NBC Sports Network studio analysts were besides themselves. Patrick Sharp described the situation as “toxic.” Anson Carter went even further:
“The guys around the league are watching this. Who's going to want to play for this guy? It seems like it's personal. And you can't survive as a coach in the National Hockey League thinking players are going to constantly change. Eventually, as a coach, you have to evolve — and this is not a good look for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's putting (general manager) Jarmo Kekalainen in a very difficult position there.”
One might point out that Tortorella has survived for 20 years and — in what is probably the swan song of his career
— he has thrived in Columbus. But Anson Carter's main point is well-taken: It does seem personal, doesn't it?
Tortorella loves Columbus and now he has a “kid” who doesn't want to be in Columbus, and is dogging it. Thursday night wasn't a one-off, either. Dubois wasn't exactly fully engaged Tuesday in Detroit, where the Jackets lost 3-2 in overtime to the Red Wings.
Kekalainen was in a bad spot when, on the eve of the season, it became clear that Dubois had demanded a trade. Kekalainen is now in a brutal position: The player who wants out is at war with the coach; the player has gone so far as to emulate Jeff Carter; and the coach has gone so far as to embarrass the player in front of Anson Carter.
The rule of thumb in such a situation is one of them has to go. Either trade the star player (without getting fair value, in all probability) or fire the coach (who is in the final year of his contract anyway). There are but 51 games left, maybe fewer depending on COVID-19 and its new mutations, and one would think the situation must be resolved sooner rather than later.
Like this: If you win the next three games, you trade the player, and if you lose the next three games, fire the coach. Do one or the other before this garish situation escalates to yet another level. Is the equation that simple? Dubois promised to be the best player, teammate and person he could be in this interim. He is not living up to his word. Tortorella is holding him accountable — perhaps even making an example out of him, perhaps to the point of hurting his team.
The general manager declined to comment publicly, but knowing Kekalainen, he will stand on principle. As in, if you're pulling on a Blue Jackets sweater, your full effort is required. It's nonnegotiable.
Kekalainen is not one to yield when it comes to the tenets of team play. He will trade Dubois when he is good and ready and has the right deal. That's the bet here.
The transaction will not be greased by bad blood spilling out on national television. A trade will only become viable when Dubois lives up to the promise he made to his teammates, and to Columbus.
Maybe, the equation is that simple. marace@dispatch.com