Jets' Dubois Clears Air About Decisions



It has been assumed that Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jets would like to play for his hometown team the Montreal Canadiens sooner rather than later. It almost seems inevitable that he is heading in that direction and fans of the team love it when French-Canadians play for their team.

Assumptions have also been made about the reason Dubois hasn't signed a long-term deal to stay with Winnipeg as well as why he went to the 2022 NHL draft that took place in Montreal. It may be because for the second time his contract was set for renewal, he expected to be dealt to the Canadiens.

Regarding why Dubois signed a one-year deal with the Jets, he stated, "At this time, the one-year deal was the way we wanted to go ... You read stuff like 'He wants out of Winnipeg.' If I wanted out of Winnipeg, I would've asked for a trade. I didn't ask for a trade. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to show up to camp." If you remember when he really wanted out of Columbus, he had the infamous shift where he put in no effort. He hasn't done that with the Jets.

Dubois had a good reason for going to the draft in Montreal, and that was because he lives 15 minutes away from the arena. He said, "I'm a fan of hockey. My bank invited me, they had a box with food and dinner. It's an entertaining night ... I used to go to drafts when I was a kid. If I was invited to go with the Jets, I would've gone with them." That checks out, but it also leaves you to wonder if he wanted a king's welcome if he was traded that night. It must've also been a wild ride of emotions seeing the Canadiens make two trades early in the draft.

The Jets' forward also mentioned that, "I don't know what I'm going to do in two years. I don't know what I'm going to do in six years. I don't know what I'm going to do in six months." I think he has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do, even if it's not what he can do. There are too many indications that Dubois wants to play for the Canadiens, whether that entails waiting until he is an unrestricted free agent or having Montreal trade for him sooner than that. He's right, he didn't say a lot of things people have said he has regarding where he wants to be right now, but it's something to watch for.

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