Dubois bears no grudges, has no regrets

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/10/2023 (720 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Pierre-Luc Dubois was uneasy about this much-ballyhooed return, he certainly wasn’t showing it.

As the Los Angeles Kings centre spoke to members of the media in the corridor just outside the visitors’ locker room for just over 10 minutes on Tuesday morning, Dubois adopted an “it’s not you, it’s me” tone in discussing the nature of his summer breakup with the Winnipeg Jets.

There were no real revelations, though there appeared to be a genuine show of appreciation for the place he called home for two-and-a-half years after the blockbuster trade for Patrik Laine.

“Everybody’s goal is to win the Stanley Cup. During my time in Winnipeg, I gave my all to win the Stanley Cup. Obviously, we didn’t,” said Dubois. “Last year ended in a disappointing way.”

When the dust settled after the disappointing ending, Dubois was involved in the second blockbuster of his young career in June, shipped to the Kings for forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari after inking an eight-year deal that carries an AAV of US$8.5 million before the sign-and-trade was officially completed.

Yes, Dubois did ask for a trade for the second time.

No, it wasn’t because he couldn’t stand living in Winnipeg or had any issues with the organization.

“I enjoyed my time here, I enjoyed playing in front of these fans and enjoyed the White-Out last year. I have nothing but good things to say about Winnipeg,” said Dubois, who reiterated the deep respect he has for Jets head coach Rick Bowness during the scrum. “Hopefully, they have nothing but good memories, even though I’m here now. I respect these fans and this city immensely.”

Skeptics will suggest that Dubois is simply paying lip service after he’s gotten his wish.

Those folks are entitled to their opinion, but it’s not a belief that is universally shared.

Dubois was anticipating the boo-birds would be out in full force, though he had already come up with a solution.

“I think you guys will think it’s like boos, like b-o-o,” said Dubois. “But I’m going to go with D-u-b. So I’ll turn it into a positive.”

Plus, he knew there would be at least a few supporters of his in the crowd.

“Minimum two. Hopefully a little bit more. Probably won’t be as loud,” said Dubois. “My parents are coming to the game, so minimum two people, hopefully two. They’re passionate fans here. That’s what I loved about coming here.”

When Dubois was asked to expand on why he didn’t want to stick around, he didn’t shed much light on his reasoning for requesting a change of scenery.

“There were a lot of positives in my time here. The people I met, obviously being in the city with my parents,” said Dubois. “But it was at a point in my career and in my life where I had to look further than just one year. It was just the timing, the contract, the situation. I have to think of myself, Year 1 but also Year 8 of the contract. And I felt like L.A. was a great fit. I enjoyed my time in Winnipeg. If I had a five-year deal coming out of Columbus with Winnipeg, then it would have been five years (with the Jets). Just the timing of it felt right.”

A natural follow-up question about what the situation with the Kings gives Dubois that the Jets or Columbus Blue Jackets couldn’t offer was deflected with relative ease.

“It’s not necessarily what it can’t give me. When I looked at it, when we talked to L.A., the team, the fit, everything that comes with it, I felt like it was the right decision for me to make,” said Dubois. “Nothing but positives of Winnipeg. People tend to think that ‘He didn’t like it.’ But as your life goes on, you sign an eight-year deal, you have to think of the eight years of that contract, and for me, it just felt like L.A. was it.”

Dubois was asked about the win-win nature of the deal which seems to be evident for both organizations.

“We worked with the team,” said Dubois. “Every once in a while you see a guy just leave and the team doesn’t get anything out of it. That’s not the situation I wanted. That’s not how I wanted it to be. So my agent (Pat Brisson) and (Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff) did a good job in finding the right fit and the right return for Winnipeg. And I’m sure they’re happy over there with what they got.

“Those guys will help the team for now and in the future, and I wish them nothing but the best.”

When news of the Jets inking Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck to long-term extensions last week, Dubois was quick to offer his congratulations.

“Yeah, I was happy for them. When I saw the news, I texted both of them,” said Dubois. “It’s good for the fans, good for the city. They’re going to go down as two Winnipeg Jet greats, especially 2.0.

“Two great players, great people. You’re happy whenever somebody that you get along with signs a contract like that. That means they’re happy. I was very thrilled for both of them.”

The third overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft is adapting to his new surroundings, even if he is still searching for his first point of the new season going into Tuesday’s game against his former team.

“It’s been easy. Obviously, still working on some things, like automatic stuff that you don’t have to think about, that comes with time. With your linemates and everybody’s habits out there,” said Dubois. “The coaching staff and players, everybody has been extremely helpful in making that transition be very easy.”

The departure of Dubois certainly riled up a segment of the Jets’ fan base, though several of his teammates painted a different picture of him.

“First and foremost, he’s an awesome guy. An awesome teammate and a guy who likes to have a lot of fun,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “It gets misconstrued in the media that he kind of wears his welcome out in places. But he was a great teammate. When the trade went down, it was big news, with us trading Patrik (Laine) for him. There were high hopes that we finally had two No. 1 centremen, with him and (Mark Scheifele).

“At his best, he is that. He’s a dominant player, he uses his size to take over games, he’s an agitator and he was a great guy to play with every night.”

Dubois has already started to leave a positive impression on his new teammates as well.

“On the skill side, he’s really smooth,” said Kings centre Phillip Danault. “He reminds me of — and it’s a big comparison — a little bit of (Jack) Eichel. It looks like he’s just gliding on the ice, super fast.

“And he’s a horse. He’s hard to play against. When he has the puck, he’s creating a lot. Because there are often two guys on him, he creates a lot of space for his linemates. That’s what I’ve seen so far. But obviously, the best is yet to come.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: WiebesWorld