Pierre-Luc Dubois, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Habs, Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Alexander Romanov
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — One thing is clear: Pierre-Luc Dubois wants out of Columbus. I wondered, what does this mean for fans of the Montreal Canadiens?
There has been a lot of speculation that the number one destination for Dubois is Montreal. This makes sense as Marc Bergevin has been interested in acquiring the Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts forward for years. My colleagues on the Canadiens Connection explained how it started in their most recent podcast.
However, I don’t think there is a reason for Habs fans to get excited at this point.
At 6-foot-3-inches tall and 219 pounds, Dubois is a center with good size. The 22-year-old may have been a near perfect asset to acquire during the 2019-2020 season. Over the past three seasons, Dubois has recorded 158 points in 234 games, averaging 0.68 points per game. That’s just behind Max Domi who, in the same time period, averaged 0.69 points per game in 235 games.
Is There A Fit?
This season, I don’t see Dubois filling a need with the current roster.
Nick Suzuki centering Jonathan Drouin and Josh Anderson are off to a strong start, particularly in game one against Toronto. The trio of Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher seemed to have their breakout game against Edmonton in game two. The third line of Tyler Toffoli, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia has been solid despite lacking on the production side.
Then there’s the salary cap to consider. Moving Kotkaniemi or Suzuki simply doesn’t create sufficient cap space to take on Dubois’ recently signed contract at $5 million per season. Moving Danault or Drouin would help offset the contract issue but neither player seems to fit a need for Columbus.
Alexander Romanov has already been deemed untouchable and, in my opinion, the Suzuki’s ceiling is too high to consider trading him. Kotkaniemi may be considered a trade asset but what do the Canadiens have to offer Columbus that will free up enough salary while still enticing the Blue Jackets.
Don’t forget that as a cross-border trade, players going to Montreal and Columbus would be required to quarantine and would not be available to their new team for several games. Considering the shortness of the season and the assets required to make a deal happen, I find it extremely unlikely that a deal could be struck with Columbus.
It is possible that Bergevin revisits this issue in two years once Dubois becomes an unrestricted free agent. Can Habs fans be patient?
By Carly Prawdzik, Staff Writer
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