Pierre-Luc Dubois reached an agreement for his future, as he signs an eight-year extension with an $8.5 million AAV with the Winnipeg Jets. The deal comes just in time for his trade to the Los Angeles Kings, and was actually negotiated with Kings management
Hearing the eight-year extension for Pierre-Luc Dubois will carry an $8.5M AAV in the sign-and-trade with Los Angeles. @NorthStarBet @TSN_Sports
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 27, 2023
Pierre-Luc Dubois Signs New Deal
A deal with the Winnipeg Jets was always going to be a difficult one. The restricted free agent made no secret of his desire to play in front of his hometown Montréal Canadiens. The problem is that Dubois is very good at hockey. No team is giving him away. However, the Los Angeles Kings finalized a sign and trade.
Drafted third overall in 2016, Dubois lived up to the lofty selection immediately. His 20-goal rookie season in Columbus was followed by a 27-goal sophomore one. But he wanted to move to a “larger market” than the one in Ohio.
His trade to the Jets for sniper Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic was a surprise. Not the deal, but the destination. When his previous two-year deal expired, he signed for just a single one in Winnipeg at $6 million.
Despite Pierre-Luc Dubois’ stated desires, he has still produced. Not as much as Laine, the player taken ahead of him, but his 2022-23 season included 27 goals and 63 points in just 73 games. His entire, six-season NHL career has seen him as a top-two centre.
What This Means
At this point, Pierre-Luc Dubois is seated ideally as a second-line centre. He has very good finish, but a lot of it was on the power play where he’s scored 26 of his 55 goals over the past two seasons. Goals count whenever they’re scored, but you want to see a bit more 5-on-5.
His possession play is also solid, never finishing a season with a sub-.500 Corsi. But we’re still waiting to see him play where he’s happy and what happens then.
Splitting time on both the Jets’ top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Schiefele and with Cole Perfetti and Blake Wheeler showed some of Dubois’ versatility. That is the minimum of what the team is paying for, and at 24 years old he should take a step forward.
Main Photo: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports
