Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen on the reports of Pierre-Luc Dubois asking for a trade despite signing a two-year extension last week.
“The rumors and these things, they’re always out there about players,” Kekalainen said when asked if he felt the need to handle the situation quickly. “General managers talk about trades all the time and sometimes rumors start from there. As far as I’m concerned, those conversations are always confidential and they won’t go anywhere else, but that’s part of the business that we have to accept.”
Coach John Tortorella said that team will talk about it in the dressing room to get things out in the open and to ‘clear the air.’ Cam Atkinson said he’s already talked to Dubois about it.
Dubois said that he will keep things private and will be a good teammate.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: Pierre-Luc Dubois wouldn’t explain or deny his unhappiness with the Columbus Blue Jackets. GM Jarmo Kekalainen said that they make a decision where a player plays.
“We want players that are proud to be Blue Jackets, proud to represent this organization, this city and the state. That doesn’t change,” Kekäläinen said. “But, at the same time, when we acquire a player’s rights, we have them for a certain amount of time, from entry-level to seven years forward or the age of 27.
“We make decisions on where they play. Like I always say, Wayne Gretzky’s been traded, so anybody can be traded. But we decide where and when and with whom we make that transaction, and we always do it with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ best interest in mind.”
After Dubois’s two-year contract expires, they will still hold his rights.
Dubois’ agent, Pat Brisson, and the Blue Jackets had been talking about an extension for the past 18 months and had even talked about an eight-year contract. An eight-year deal would have bought four years of unrestricted free agency. A three-year deal was also discussed.
Once Dubois told the Blue Jackets he wasn’t interested in an eight- or three-year deal any longer, the two-year deal came together quickly.