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Winnipeg Jets trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois

Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic are no longer Winnipeg Jets. They have been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a third round pick. The Jets are also retaining 26% of Laine’s salary to keep the cap hits the same.

Trading Laine and Roslovic was almost inevitable at the start of the season even though it was said that trading Laine and his salary would be hard in a flat cap world. It just so happened that Dubois also wanted to be traded and had a fairly heft salary. Roslovic has not even been to Winnipeg as he is without contract.

Dubois should help the Jets with their centre depth. Paul Stastny was always a stop-gap to an actual problem that Cole Perfetti would hopefully solve. Perfetti can now be a winger if they so choose and Dubois the centre. The Jets most likely have more insight on Dubois as his father is an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose. He will have to quarantine for two weeks before playing.

In trading Laine and Roslovic the Jets show how hollow their “draft and develop” talk is. Instead of working to retain two players who they drafted and developed; Laine especially was one they should have worked harder to keep, they show that they are more committed to keeping a mediocre coach who has never won anything and an aging captain who is paid too much vs. a young goal scorer. In the single game Laine played the season before getting hurt, we saw a player who was committed to being as engaged on the ice as he possibly could.

Losing Roslovic does not hurt nearly as much. Roslovic was a typical bottom six player. He’d be fine in the place of Mason Appleton, but losing him isn’t nearly as big of a deal as losing Laine. Dubois should be able to replace Laine’s production, but the Jets will miss his ability to score a goal at the drop of a hat.

Anyways, the Jets will have centres for days in a couple weeks.

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