Jets trade Dubois for a Kings ransom By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 4:02 PM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 27, 2023 Last Modified: 11:27 AM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 28, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (1194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pierre-Luc Dubois gets his money and long-term job security — and hopefully a bit of happiness — in a hockey home of his choosing. Los Angeles lands what they hope is the next franchise centre they’ve been searching for. And the Winnipeg Jets? They make off with a Kings’ ransom which they believe will ensure both present, and future, success.

Might this just be the rare blockbuster trade where everybody wins? It’s too early to tell, of course, but give general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff plenty of credit. He turned a potential lemon into sweet, sweet lemonade on Tuesday afternoon.

Gone is Dubois, the disgruntled power forward who never really felt comfortable around here. In his place are a trio of intriguing players in Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, plus a 2024 second-round draft pick.

It is arguably the biggest and most important deal of Cheveldayoff’s 12-year tenure in Winnipeg. And it came when most pundits felt his back was against the wall.

The swap had been in the works for days, with talks really heating up this past weekend, sources told the Free Press. It was finally completed on the eve of the NHL draft in Nashville when the last remaining hurdle was cleared — Dubois agreeing to an eight-year, $US68-million contract extension, for an average of US$8.5 million per season.

Ka-ching. The paperwork was actually signed with Winnipeg (who, as the team with Dubois’ rights could offer him a max eight-year term, rather than seven), then immediately shipped to La-La Land.

Dubois, 25, is viewed as a prize catch for the Kings. The third-overall pick from 2017 slots in as the second-line centre, for now, behind Anze Kopitar. But a clear succession plan is in place for when the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer eventually hangs up his skates. The Quebec product had a career-high 63 points (27 goals and 36 assists) in 73 regular-season games last year with Winnipeg.

Coming the other way is quite the haul.

Vilardi, 23, is the key piece. The Kingston, Ont., product, was the 11th-overall pick in the 2016 draft and can play centre or right wing. The 6-3, 215-pounder had a career-high 41 points (23 goals, 18 assists) in 63 regular-season games last year with Los Angeles. Yes, that’s only four goals less than Dubois scored, at a fraction of the price tag for a skater who is bigger and younger.

Vilardi is a restricted free agent this summer who is due for a significant raise after making US$825,000 last season. However, he can’t become an unrestricted free agent until 2027, so the Jets are guaranteed at least four seasons with a player who is trending in a favourable direction.

Iafallo, 29, gives Winnipeg another reliable top-nine forward option. The undrafted left-winger from Eden, N.Y., has played six NHL seasons, all with Los Angeles. Although he’s not a massive offensive producer — his career-high is 17 goals and 43 points, set in 2019-20 — he’s consistent. Iafallo, who stands 6-0 and weighs 200 pounds, is signed for two more seasons at US$4 million per year. He had 36 points (14 goals and 22 assists) in 59 regular-season games last year, missing the other 23 with injury.

There will be some immediate familiarity for the forward. Iafallo spent four years playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Jets defenceman Neal Pionk was a teammate of his for the final two, in 2015-16 and 2016-17, while Jets/Moose forward Dominic Toninato was with him for all four seasons.

Kupari, 23, is a right-shot centre from Finland who was drafted in the first round, 20th-overall, by Los Angeles in 2018. He has played parts of three seasons in the NHL, with 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 130 games. Fifteen of those (three goals, 12 assists) came in 66 contests last year. Kupari has also played 85 American Hockey League games since coming over from Europe, with 48 points (24 goals and 24 assists).

You can file this trade under “making the best of a bad situation.”

Winnipeg obtained Dubois from the Columbus Blue Jackets in January 2021, believing they had found their future No. 1 centre. They were banking on it, in fact, considering they sent Finnish sniper Patrik Laine, along with throw-in Jack Roslovic, the other way.

Dubois had all the elements you’d want in a player, including size (6-2, 205 pounds), skill, speed and a surly streak (183 penalty minutes over the last two years) that also got under the skin of opponents and saw him draw about as many infractions as he took.

Instead, Dubois played just 195 regular-season games with the Jets over two-and-a-half seasons and now leaves before he truly hit his prime.

For reasons not entirely made clear, he didn’t see a long-term future in Winnipeg and was not going to sign an extension despite the fact his father, Eric, is an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose. He would have become a UFA next summer, so the Jets couldn’t afford to hold on to him much longer and risk losing such a valuable asset for nothing.

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The big surprise was his ultimate landing spot. Many believe his hometown Montreal Canadiens were his “end game,” which might have boxed Cheveldayoff into a corner when it came to negotiating a deal.

Why would Montreal GM Kent Hughes, for example, pay much of a price for a guy he could just ink on July 1, 2024 without any compensation? Fortunately for Winnipeg, Dubois agreed to expand his potential horizons. In that sense, you have to give him credit for working with the organization he wanted out of, and not against them.

How’s this for a bit of fun? Less than an hour before the trade became official, the NHL released the 2023-24 regular-season schedule. Winnipeg’s third game of the year, which is their second home game at Canada Life Centre, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 17. The visitors that night? Dubois and the Kings.

The Canadiens acted quickly after losing out on Dubois, sending a first and second-round draft pick to Colorado for young centre Alex Newhook. A consolation prize, if you will. There were several other deals as well, including New Jersey sending goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood to the San Jose Sharks for a sixth-round pick and the Philadelphia Flyers pulling off a salary cap dump by shipping forward Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-rounder.

There could be plenty more fireworks to come as well, with Round 1 of the NHL draft being held on Wednesday night, rounds two through seven on Thursday, and NHL free agent frenzy kicking off Saturday.

And Winnipeg could be right in the middle of several more.

Like Dubois, No. 1 goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is set to be a UFA next summer and is seeking a change of scenery. Numerous teams, including the New Jersey Devils, have been linked to recent trade rumours.

Centre Mark Scheifele could also be on the move, with plenty of buzz surrounding him and the Boston Bruins, among others. And veteran forward Blake Wheeler is expected to be bought out if a trade partner can’t be found.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.