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The Pierre-Luc Dubois saga came to a close on Saturday with the successful trade which saw the center pass from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovc.
It came after Dubois called for a trade from Columbus and went through a rocky four-game streak to open the season where he was benched twice. This includes a bench that has covered almost an entire game. It was then that it became clear that a trade was going to be a necessity as soon as possible.
On Saturday the trade took place. So we knew the who and the when, but we still didn’t know the Why.
A sin, Why Did Dubois want to get out of Columbus?
Just hours after the exchange on Saturday night, Dubois sat down for an interview with Ron MacLean of Sportsnet (watch the full interview on Sportsnet) and attempted to answer that question. He made it clear that this was something he had been thinking about for a while, especially as contract negotiations continued this offseason (he signed a two-year, $ 10 million contract just before the start of the season. season).
It was a process
“I’ve said from the start that I won’t go into specifics, and I won’t,” said Dubois. “I can say it was a process. I thought for a long time. It was not overnight. It’s not that I woke up one morning and it was a decision to be made. This is something I thought about. As the negotiations go on, obviously, you don’t take anything personally, but as they go on longer and longer you start to think about things and situations.
“At one point, I thought there was Pierre-Luc Dubois the hockey player and Pierre-Luc Dubois the human. I wanted to stay true to myself, to my teammates. I knew if this was a longer affair, deep down I would have wanted it to happen. I wanted to be real to myself, to be real to my teammates and everyone. I know some people are not happy with this, and I understand that. But I am extremely grateful for all that Columbus, the fans, the city and the staff have done for me.
Response from teammates
MacLean asked Dubois about the response from his teammates and how difficult it can be for a young player to request a trade. This is where he addressed the training camp reunion that coach John Tortorella referred to when he asked Dubois to speak to the team so that everything was exposed.
“We had the conversation before the camp started, as Torts said. He wanted to make it known to everyone and it was also something I wanted to do, ”Dubois said.
“I didn’t want to play games with my teammates. I respect them more than anyone. I let them know, I let them know the reasons. It has nothing to do with them. They’ve been great to me since I came to the NHL, making me feel like part of the team, making me feel like Columbus is a home. We’re all teammates, we’re all friends, we all care about each other. At the end of the day, you want your friend, you want your teammate to be happy. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes you can be disappointed with their decisions, but I just know that at the end of the day they want me to be happy.
Dubois said Tortorella was not the reason
Finally, the elephant in the play was discussed: what role his relationship with Tortorella played in the decision. Dubois spoke at length about how he knew what kind of coach Tortorella was when he was drafted, and that he spoke to a lot of players who had played for him before, which told him what to expect. . The consensus was that he would put pressure on it, but that it was just to make you better and that years later you would look back and appreciate it. Dubois said Tortorella was NOT the cause of his request.
“I know for some people it might be, that’s the reason, but it’s not,” Dubois said. “He was a tough trainer, but I can take it, nothing is personal. I grew up with a father who is a coach, he always told me that if a coach challenges you, it’s not personal, he just wants the best for you. This is how I see Torts and I have nothing but respect for him.
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Adam gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.
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