Jackets trade off unhappy Dubois
After Pierre-Luc Dubois was benched for lack of effort two days ago, the Blue Jackets on Saturday traded the unhappy star center to the Jets for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.
Dubois, the Blue Jacket’ top-line center, made it clear when he signed a two-year contract before the season that he wanted a change of scenery. Laine, an All-Star winger also had been asking for a trade.
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said the deal had been in the works and wasn’t hastened by the rift between Dubois and Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who benched the 22-yearold star for loafing in Thursday’s loss to the Lightning.
“We’ve been working on this for a while and we’ve always said that it could take a while until we find the right deal, but if the right deal is on the table we’re ready to move fast,” Kekalainen said. “So just everything came together.”
Dubois is a dynamic center whom the Blue Jackets hoped would be one of their building blocks. But he declined to sign a long-term deal and let it be known he wanted to play elsewhere. After leading the team in scoring with 49 points last season, Dubois had one goal and no assists in the first five games of 2021.
Laine, a 22-year-old Finnish winger, has scored 36, 44, 30 and 28 goals in each of his four NHL seasons but has grown into a better all-around player in the process. Roslovic, a 23-year-old center has 26 goals and 41 assists in 180 career games.
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