Dubois talks after getting benched
Center’s trade request hangs over Blue Jackets
Blue Jackets center Pierre-luc Dubois on Friday vowed to be better in every aspect of his game and pivoted away from questions about his desire to leave the team after being benched for the final two periods of Thursday's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jackets coach John Tortorella has benched Dubois before, but this occasion seems different because of Dubois' preseason trade request. Tortorella said the decision, like every time he benches a player, was strictly about performance.
“He's another player in a 23-man roster that I have to watch,” Tortorella said.
“I don't care how much money you make; I don't care when you were drafted, free agent, fourth line, first line — it does not matter to me. We live and die on our team concept. We live and die playing as a team.”
Dubois requested a trade before the beginning of training camp. He and the front office have declined to explain why, with Dubois reiterating on Friday that he would keep those conversations private.
Dubois declined to address the media after Thursday's game. A day later he participated in an optional practice before Saturday's game against the Lightning, then talked about his own play rather than specifically answer whether he felt the decision to be benched was warranted.
"That's the coach's decision,” Dubois said. “It's out of my control. Like I said, I can be a better player. I know that. I acknowledge that."
In five games this season, Dubois has one goal with no assists, leading to speculation that his trade request becoming public has affected his play.
In the preseason Dubois indicated he would be a good teammate, player and person so his request would not create a distraction. Asked if he has lived up to that statement, Dubois simply said he can do a lot more than he has shown so far this season.
"That wasn't the first time I got benched by Torts and I wasn't the first guy that got benched by Torts,” Dubois said. “I think that it's just a thing you've got to learn from, it's definitely something you don't want to repeat and for it to not repeat itself you've got to be better."
Dubois added that the benching "definitely motivates you to step up your game and get back to the level I know I can play at."
Dubois took his last shift was with 4:36 remaining in the first period. Television
replays showed that the center half-heartedly battled for a puck in the corner against Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson. Once Johnson got the puck that sprang a rush the other way, Dubois skated slowly back to the bench.
“We hold people accountable and we will continue to do that because we will not survive as this group here if we don't,” Tortorella said. “I am going to monitor that and I'm very honest about that with the players. They know that's how we go about it."
Tortorella said after an overtime loss to Detroit on Tuesday that if he benched a player, it would be obvious. Friday, he said the benching was the result of multiple games, not one shift.
"This has eroded and it just kept eroding,” Tortorella said. “I think a lot of people are putting a bigger deal to it because of the extenuating circumstances. You guys can do that. I'm just coaching athletes. And I will not allow our standard of play and our culture and how we go about our business here to change."
The Jackets have experience with playing with players who haven't committed to being with the team in the future. But the situation in 2018-19 with Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin is different because they were at the end of their contracts, and Dubois simply wants out.
Tortorella said that, to him, deciding to bench a player has nothing to do with any contract issues. And like then, the Jackets talked about the situation openly as a team.
“I can't express enough to you how different it is from a Bread and Bob to how he's gone about his business,” Tortorella said. “I have to make decisions accordingly to that. That's all this is.”
Tortorella said there's no need for more meetings. He's watching actions, not rhetoric.
“I think I can have a better start to the season,” Dubois said. “I hold myself to a high standard and I haven't played to the level that I know I can play.” jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers