Quoting: Jetman
I can't get that website for some reason...whats the cliff notes on it?
If he wishes, Patrik Laine will not only find a new team in Columbus . He could also move into a brand new house: that of Pierre-Luc Dubois. And when he goes to bed at night, gazing at the ceiling of his new bedroom, Laine will be able to ask himself a few questions that very few people raise.
Questions like: Why the hell did Dubois invest time and money to have a house built in Columbus, which he moved into last summer, if he intended to move out of town in the more sacred? Or again: How, overnight, Dubois could he become the enemy to be defeated in the Blue Jackets while he was carrying them on his shoulders during the last playoffs?
The more you ask the right people these questions, the more fascinating the events leading up to the exchange that everyone is talking about .
***
During the last playoffs in the Toronto bubble, Pierre-Luc Dubois undoubtedly confirmed his place among the fiercest competitors of the young generation of NHL forwards.
The Blue Jackets came into the playoffs with very limited potential. Without the offensive contribution, the physical presence and the impeccable work that Dubois did in his defensive zone, Columbus would never have managed to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the preliminary round. In the third game of this series, in particular, he took matters into his own hands when his team were 0-3 behind. He had a hat trick, including the tying goal in the third and the winning goal in overtime, to put his team ahead 2-1 in the series.
Then, in the fifth and final game, without even registering for the score, Dubois had offered another very solid performance. The Leafs were shut out 3-0 and their best forwards looked bad. In the minutes following this umpteenth Leafs collapse, an expression that I have repeated many times since was born: if my life depended on the outcome of a hockey game and I had the choice between Dubois and Auston Matthews, I would choose Dubois. eyes closed.
A few days later, sitting almost alone like a cotton ball in the cold stands of Scotiabank Arena, I had the privilege of seeing Dubois play one of the main roles in an anthology game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this mind-blowing encounter, which the eventual Stanley Cup champions won 3-2 in the fifth overtime period, he collected 1 goal and 1 assist and played 44 minutes against forwards from the best team in the league.
Collectively, the Blue Jackets couldn't hold their own against the Lightning. The latter were simply more talented. Although the series ended in five games, Tampa still needed all its spare change to land each of its four victories.
Pierre-Luc Dubois was not only the Blue Jackets' leading scorer, he was also their most confident and uncompromising competitor.
Pierre-Luc Dubois
Pierre-Luc Dubois
PHOTO: THE CANADIAN PRESS / NATHAN DENETTE
***
During the weeks following the elimination of the Blue Jackets, their GM Jarmo Kekalainen began discussions about a contract extension with representatives of Pierre-Luc Dubois. Two scenarios were then on the table: a long-term pact or another of four years which would end when he was going to obtain the right to autonomy.
Since this was an important commitment, the number one center of the Blue Jackets began to ask questions about the main directions of the organization. Did we intend to untie the purse strings to keep the best players in the team and build a lasting team? For example, would Zack Werenski and Seth Jones still be playing Columbus in two years?
When your goal in life is to win championships, these are questions that arise quite legitimately.
Like many other players before him, Dubois' relationship with John Tortorella was also proving problematic. You don't get yelled at for three years without leaving a mark. And it was still happening during the playoffs. However, it was not said to be a breaking point.
After having thoroughly covered the issue, Dubois had come to the conclusion that he did not want to commit to the long term with the Blue Jackets and that his future lay elsewhere. And since it was his career, it was his right to do it.
Kekalainen and Pat Brisson then decided to work together to settle this dispute. They agreed that it would be better to sign a two-year deal whose average value (5 million per season) would allow the Blue Jackets to trade Dubois despite the difficult economic environment prevailing in the NHL. In this way, Kekalainen also had enough time to allow the market to mature and to conclude a profitable trade.
This agreement was to remain confidential. So the Blue Jackets would continue to operate normally until it was handed over.
Except that's not what happened.
***
When training camp got underway, John Tortorella's assistants had been ordered not to speak to Dubois. The latter then realized the obvious: communication was broken and his work environment was no longer the same. And this childish way of approaching the situation meant that an exchange was going to happen very quickly.
A player raises his right arm in the air
Patrik Laine, right, celebrates a goal against the Senators.
PHOTO: THE CANADIAN PRESS / FRED GREENSLADE
In Winnipeg, Patrik Laine had been luckier. When he expressed the wish to go play elsewhere in 2019, the leaders of the Jets had simply taken note of his request. They weren't happy with his game and his conduct either, but they continued to treat him professionally, like a full member of their organization.
A few weeks ago, almost a year and a half later, the Jets coaches were very impressed when Laine showed up to camp. He was in excellent physical condition. He also displayed the presence and consistency of a young man who seemed to have gained a great deal of maturity.
When Laine and the Jets parted ways on Saturday, it was much more of an amicable divorce than the tumultuous end of a toxic relationship.
Let's come back to Dubois a bit.
From the start of the camp, the star center of the Blue Jackets also realized that the confidentiality of the agreement he had made with the team's GM had evaporated in the space of a few hours. The person responsible for the leak is also not difficult to identify.
During the last playoffs, the coach of the Blue Jackets displayed a total contempt for the journalists assigned to the coverage of his club. Condescending at will, Tortorella spent her time refusing to answer even the most mundane questions and telling media representatives that what was going on in her club's locker room did not concern them. And when he deigned to respond, it was often in two or three words.
In recent weeks, however, Columbus journalists have discovered a John Tortorella 2.0, very talkative, and very inclined to deliver his moods during his press briefings.
John Tortorella on the bench of the Blue Jackets
John Tortorella on the bench of the Blue Jackets
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES / BRUCE BENNETT
In an interview with a local radio station, Tortorella even proceeded to recount what had happened in a team meeting in which, in a humiliating way, he challenged Dubois to explain the reasons why he wanted to leave the organization. The coach even allowed himself, publicly, to question the sincerity of the comments made by the athlete on this occasion.
Suddenly, the brilliant center player who had been his right-hand man a few months before was just a player like the others whose level of professionalism had suddenly become questionable. A true prophet, Tortorella was now announcing, through the media, that Dubois' leash had become very short and that he was not going to hesitate to use it.
By sticking Dubois to the bench for more than two periods last Thursday, he, in effect, simply presented the final number of a circus he himself had set up. Incredibly, there have been people who have been surprised since the start of the season that Dubois' game has not been on point.
***
Tortorella did some real demolition work from day one of the camp and it never stopped. He took the initiative and placed his general manager up against the wall , notes a source well aware of the situation.
Seen in this light, it was extremely ironic to hear Tortorella on Saturday grieve that Jarmo Kekalainen had been placed in an untenable situation .
The situation Jarmo found himself in is what bothers me the most about this matter. But he stood up and he still found a way to make a good trade. We are very excited to welcome these new players (Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic) , said the coach.
With the arrival of Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Winnipeg Jets are now betting on one of the strongest, if not the strongest, centerlines in the NHL. And while most pundits agree that the Jets had the upper hand, the Blue Jackets got a very good reward.
Everyone is happy. And time will tell if there is something for everyone. But let's bet Dubois will long remember John Tortorella and his last moments with the Columbus Blue Jackets. This part of the story should never have turned out like this.
some facts in there, guy looks kinda biased tho
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